Harry Potter and the Horcrux Hunt
by rifraf
Summary: [ON HIATUS] Against his initial intentions, Harry Potter is forced to return to Hogwarts for his 7th and final year. There he finds means to destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes, and perhaps even a means to kill the Dark Lord himself. [PostHBP] HG, RHr & NL
1. True Colours

Hi, this is my first fanfic so have pity on me! I've read quite a few fanfics recently, and for the most part, they talk of Harry getting amazing new powers or skills at the age of 17. How else is he to destroy the Horcruxes and kill Voldemort? Well I thought that it would be mildly unrealistic – I say mildly because after all, we are dealing with a fictional world of magic – that Harry suddenly displays powers he has never shown before. These I thought wouldn't appear overnight as some people imagined. This is not to put down other people's fanfics; some of them are truly amazing.

Anyway, I thought to myself that there had to be another way for him to succeed; so I decided to try and write a fanfic about it. It is based purely on canon, and I have gleaned as many details from the books as possible to create a world, which I hope, will be close to JK Rowlings world of Harry Potter. I hope you enjoy it, I'm finding it a lot of fun creating a world of almost infinite possibilities. As the Prime Minister in HBP said, "But for heaven's sake – you're _wizards_! You can do _magic_! Surely you can sort out – well – _anything_!" And as the creator of this story, so can I.

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER ONE –

_**True Colours**_

Night had fallen over Little Hangleton, and the villagers had all retreated to the safety of their homes. Overlooking Little Hangleton was a large building, a manor, Riddle Manor. The villagers thought that Riddle Manor might be haunted, especially after the mysterious and unexplainable death of Frank Bryce a few years earlier, so similar to the deaths of the three he had been accused of murdering. He too had died for no visible reasons. Although not in good health, he did not have a mark on him when he died, and the doctors had said that he hadn't been poisoned either. The grounds around it had been examined for poisonous gases escaping and radioactive activity; and nothing had been found. Nor were there any gas leaks from the piping in his cottage. The Manor was a mystery, which most people were happy to stay safely away from. The last owner had tried to sell it, but no one had wanted it, so it continued falling into disrepair, parts of it collapsing during particularly violent storms.

The Riddle's family graveyard, which was on the grounds, was also abandoned, so no one noticed when two cloaked figures suddenly appeared, accompanied by two faint _pops_. The only thing to notice this phenomenon of nature was an owl, which hooted softly in their direction. One figure, marginally shorter and slimmer than the other, began walking towards the Manor. The other hurried to catch up, calling after him.

'Draco, wait, you cannot afford to enter alone. The Dark Lord does not forgive easily; you _will_ need my help.' Catching up with the man called Draco, he grabbed his arm. 'Draco, do you understand me? Let me speak to him first, unless of course you wish to follow your mother.' Draco faltered.

'Do not speak of her!' He cried out, 'It is your fault he killed her! If you hadn't agreed to make the Unbreakable Vow, she would still be alive.' He collapsed, sobbing.

The other man stood uneasily, unsure of how to respond. After an uncomfortable silence, broken only by Draco's quiet sobs, he whispered gently, 'I know how you grieve Draco, but I could do nothing to prevent it. Your Aunt Bella still didn't trust me. If I hadn't taken the vow, she would have run to the Dark Lord to announce my treachery. Your mother would have died for her lack of trust in the Dark Lord, and I would have been hunted down shortly after. You would have been left alone, and even if you had killed Dumbledore, the Order would have in all likeness stopped you escaping. You would have been almost certainly sent to join one of you parents long before now.' There was a long pause before he continued, 'She was dead the moment she walked through my door.'

Draco stopped crying, straightened up and nodded. 'You're right of course. So what do we do now?'

'We rejoin the Dark Lord immediately, and hope our tardiness goes unnoticed. Remember Draco; let me speak to him first. You have already angered him by forcing me to reveal my true allegiances; do not give him any more reason to kill you.'

Draco lowered his head in acceptance, 'Yes Severus.' Severus marvelled at the change in his godson. Where there was once an arrogant, spoilt, and often childish boy, stood a humble and matured young man.

Starting off again, Severus said rather brusquely, 'Right, let's go then, and if you want to live to see dawn, you better beg for the Dark Lord's mercy.'

'Yes Severus.' Draco mumbled again, following Severus up the Riddle Manor.

They made their way up to the back door, and waving their left arms across the doorway, they entered the rundown house. Climbing the creaky staircase, they heard raised voices and hesitated. It was imprudent to enter the Dark Lord's chambers when he was angry at someone, _especially_ when your presence was more than likely to anger him further. Stopping half-way up the staircase, they waited.

A cold voice echoed through the house, 'I don't care what it takes Wormtail, I want him found. I cannot have Harry Potter coming of age without my knowing his whereabouts. He loses his last defence against me in a few weeks; I _need_ to know where his good for nothing Muggle family is hidden. Find him, and when you do, post a lookout and report straight back to me. He has escaped me for the last time.'

'Yes Master,' a whimpering voice came back. 'I will do everything in my power to find him in time.'

'Well that's not saying much, you're a worthless excuse of a wizard.' The cold voice sneered. 'Now kiss my robes and go.'

'Yes Master.' A soft flutter of robes was heard.

'Remember, use _any_ means necessary to find him, use Bella and anyone else available if you must, but don't forget, he is not to be touched, you understand? He is mine.'

'Yes Master.' A short, balding man scurried out of one of the first floor room, saw Draco and Severus, squeaked and vanished in a loud _pop_.

Draco and Severus edged forward cautiously, making sure to make enough noise to alert their master of their presence. As they entered the room, all they saw was a roaring fire burning in the grate, and a large armchair facing it, away from them. It was empty. Confused, Severus wheeled around as a man stepped out of the shadows; well it would be generous to call him a man. He was paler than bone, his eyes wide and scarlet, and his nose was flat like a snake's with slits for nostrils. He spoke, his voice high, but jubilant.

'Severus! How good of you to join me, I was beginning to worry that your old friends from the Order had found you; and Draco. I'm so sorry about your mother, but her foolish act of desperation almost ruined my plan.' Draco noticed that his Master was now making it sound like _he_ had planned the Death Eaters entry into Hogwarts, even though he had not even heard of the vanishing cabinets until recently. 'Ah, you question my involvement in last month's attack? Quite right, it was after all, you who fixed the cabinet and got my faithful followers into the castle,' had Severus heard right? The Dark Lord was complimenting Draco, yet he should be furious. He had failed to kill Dumbledore and forced Severus to reveal himself, the Dark Lord continued, 'it was you too who disarmed that Mudblood lover Dumbledore,' and his voice suddenly turned cold. Severus immediately knew what was coming, 'but you did not kill him, why?' Draco gulped audibly, hoping that Severus would intervene as he promised.

'Master, if you would let me speak.' Severus interrupted, hoping to draw the Dark Lord's attention away from Draco.

'Yes Severus?' Thanking his good fortune for a chance, Severus quickly started talking before his master changed his mind.

'The boy has never killed before, nor practised. No one expected him to succeed in his plan so he wasn't given any training in how to actually carry it out. He should not be blamed for not being able to kill Dumbledore, he didn't know how. He couldn't have even given Dumbledore a nose bleed if he'd used the Killing Curse.' He ended his last comment with a sneer, to try and cover his worry. His master pondered this view for a few minutes, during which Severus and Draco stood anxiously, before making a decision.

'Fine, Severus; you are to train him in the Unforgivables and anything else you think could be of use. I want him ready to take out on raids within the month. Do not disappoint me.' Draco exhaled in relief, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. His relief was short-lived however, as his master continued, 'Draco, as a token of my appreciation for your efforts, I'll let you live tonight. However, next time you disappoint me, I will not be as gracious, and to show you what lies ahead if you fail me, here is a demonstration. Crucio!' Draco collapsed on the floor, screaming. The Dark Lord, had a look of ecstasy on his face, and held the curse for 45 seconds. When released, Draco groaned and passed out. Severus was about to revive him, when his master spoke, 'Leave him for a moment Severus. I need to speak with you; I don't want him to hear us.'

'Yes, my Lord.' replied Snape.

'Now that Dumbledore is dead, there is no one who can resist me. I read in the Daily Prophet that Hogwarts is being reopened. The Ministry probably wants to keep an appearance of normality and control. I want to break it. I want to mount an attack on Hogwarts with the help of the Dementors. If successful, the Ministry will almost certainly sue for peace. They could not stay in power after such a loss. You and Bella are my most trusted servants; I want you two to work together on a plan to destroy the school. Come back to me with a list of possible plans by September 1st, I will decide on the final plan and choose a date.'

'Yes my Lord.' Severus replied, shuddering.

'Is there something wrong Snape? You do not approve of my methods maybe?' the Dark Lord enquired mockingly.

'It is not that, Master, but if we did murder every child in Hogwarts, every wizard and witch in Britain will stand up to us. We would most likely lose a lot of support and funds, and no one – except perhaps Bella and Fenrir – likes murdering children. It will be very difficult to get people to carry out such an order, especially the young recruits. You would be asking them to kill their classmates; very few of them would have the stomach for it.' The Dark Lord inclined his head to one side, pondering this response.

'Hmm, you are probably right. Maybe we should just attack Hogsmeade, there's no one there that could cloud their thoughts, apart from Rosmerta perhaps!' He cackled, sending shivers down Snape's neck. 'Yes, we shall attack Hogsmeade instead. Snape, go and make plans with Bella, but make sure you do not choose a Hogsmeade visit, that would result in the same problem as before. Oh, and take Draco with you, I almost forgot about him; now go.'

Severus took a step back, pulling out his wand. Flicking it casually at Draco's inert form, he muttered 'Enervate'. Instantly, Draco's eyes fluttered open, and he woke up.

'Get up Draco, before I change my mind about being gracious.' The Dark Lord threatened coldly. Draco dragged himself off the floor, all his bones felt like they were on fire. He let out a small moan as he straightened up, watching his master fearfully. 'Ah good, now you fear me as you should. Severus, take him home and train him properly.'

'Yes, my Lord' Severus replied humbly, '_I'll have to improve the boy's Occlumency skills, Bella hasn't done a good enough job_' he thought. It was dangerous to let the Dark Lord read your innermost, most secret thoughts; he would surely turn them against you for his own amusement.

Snape grabbed Draco's arm firmly, pulling him into a bow as they retreated from the room. As soon as they left Riddle Manor, Draco collapsed, drained of energy. Fortunately, Snape had expected this would happen (well, he'd actually half-expected the Dark Lord to murder him), and had brought some Pepper-Up Potion. He pulled Draco into a sitting position, and poured the potion down his throat. Having revived Draco somewhat, he held his arm firmly and Side-Along Apparated them away. Their departure was only noticed by an owl, which hooted softly in the direction of the _pops_ then flew away into the night.


	2. Coming of Age

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWO –

_**Coming of Age**_

Harry Potter was pacing back and forth across his room impatiently. He was wringing his hands, too nervous to pick up the thin stick lying on his bed. He was worried that he would accidentally cast a wordless spell, for that stick was a wand, and Harry was a wizard. This alone should have been enough to make Harry unusual, but he had also come to hate the summer holidays, especially this one, for in a few minutes, his last defence against a mass murderer by the chosen name of Lord Voldemort, was about to fall.

Harry had done everything he could to prepare for this moment; he looked around his room – '_well it won't be mine for much longer; Dudders will be ecstatic_' he thought wryly – one last time. Nothing of importance was out; all his worldly possessions had been packed carefully into his trunk, which was now sitting at the end of his bed. An empty bird cage was lying on his desk, and lying around were old newspaper cuttings from the Daily Prophet. Harry focused on one lying in a puddle of light, it bore the headline:

_HOGWARTS TO STAY OPEN_

_In a surprise move, the governors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry decided yesterday to keep the school open with Professor McGonagall as the new Headmistress. It was believed, after the murder of Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards), that the school would be closed indefinitely, as the safety of the students and staff could no longer be ensured, and such a large concentration of defenceless wizards and witches would be too much of a target for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his supporters, the organisation calling itself the Death Eaters. _

_However, the governors, in conjunction with the Ministry have decided that the school will remain open for those students who are prepared to return. New Headmistress McGonagall announced yesterday that, "although we at Hogwarts all mourn Albus' passing, we know that he would have wanted us to keep the school open, his greatest wish was always to teach the next generation of students the skills necessary to live in peace and harmony in the magical world. However, now, to reach that ideal, students and adults alike need to learn how to protect themselves from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers. We are determined to teach those who are prepared to return to Hogwarts these skills."_

_A Ministry employee confirmed that more defences had been introduced at Hogwarts, but would not elaborate, although it was rumoured to include a contingent of goblins and various spells and charms set by –_

But the rest of the article was stuck under Harry's trunk. A second newspaper bearing the title SEVERUS SNAPE AND DRACO MALFOY STILL AT LARGE was also visible. Harry, desperate for something to do to keep his mind at ease, focused on this one too.

_Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy, possibly the most wanted wizards in the wizarding world have yet again eluded capture. Snape, a former Potions teacher and most recently Defence against the Dark Arts teacher has puzzled Aurors, who received another tip-off from an anonymous source than he was hiding in the vicinity of Malfoy Manor. Draco, a former student at Hogwarts, orchestrated the events in late May which resulted in Albus Dumbledore's ( - _

However, the rest of the article was hidden in shadows. On his bed lay an envelope addressed to 'The Dursleys'. In it, was a letter explaining that Harry, who would be of age by the time they read the letter, was no longer protected by Petunia's blood. This meant that Voldemort and his followers would be able to find 4 Privet Drive the instant he became 17, and would most likely converge on it if he stayed there. Therefore, Harry would be leaving my magical means the instant he was 17, and they would most likely never see him again. Harry hadn't written 'Thank you' or 'Good bye' in the letter, for neither he felt was appropriate. The Dursleys had abused him from the moment that he had been left on their doorstep as a baby, going as far as to give him the cupboard under the stairs as a room for the first 10 years of his life there. He had been bullied, mistreated, underfed, and generally treated as a stray dog or servant his whole life, and he didn't regret leaving one bit. As for saying 'Good bye', that may have been possible, had it not been for the fact that they hadn't spoken to him since his premature return from Hogwarts, not even to greet him or ask why he was back early.

On the whole, Harry was excited about leaving, confident that his plan to remain hidden from Voldemort would work; the only worry he had, was reaching his hideout. He had used most of the remainder of the contents of his Gringotts vaults to buy a small flat near one of his best friends, where he could hide out for the remainder of the summer; he reasoned that as he didn't intend to return to Hogwarts, he wasn't going to run out of money anytime soon. He chose not to stay with the Weasleys because they would be an obvious choice, and Voldemort had probably left someone near them to watch for his arrival. That and the fact that the upcoming marriage would probably attract a lot of attention, and even if he could sneak passed the spies, he would probably be spotted later. Harry was nervous about asking the Grangers, as he hardly knew them, and in the event of an attack, they would be defenceless. He did not want to expose them to risk. Instead, he would stay alone in an unplotable and Fidelius protected flat; he had all the books with him explaining both (complex) pieces of magic. He now knew the necessary charms off by heart, and could complete them both in a matter minutes, he had practiced – without a wand. He would designate himself as Secret Keeper, determined not to make a repetition of his parents' mistake.

Now all he had to wait for was Hermione, who would apparate them to the apartment, and help with the charms and moving his belongings in. Harry's invisibility cloak lay on the bed, ready for him to grab the moment Hermione appeared.

He watched anxiously as the minute hand approached the twelve, and wondered if his precautions would be enough.

Suddenly, there was a faint _pop_ outside 4 Privet Drive. Harry ran to the window, and pressing his nose against it, peered outside. Standing in the driveway, was a bushy haired witch; Harry grinned, threw his cloak over his shoulders and grabbing his wand, tapped his trunk and the bird cage. They gradually vanished as they were disillusioned, and he quickly muttered '_Locomotor trunk_', carefully placing the cage on top of the trunk.

Harry's trunk rose a few inches into the air, and using his wand to guide it, Harry descended the stairs carefully, making sure he didn't wake the Dursleys. He quietly opened the back door, put his trunk down, and crept around to the front of the house. Sneaking up behind Hermione, he whispered in her ear 'What was the first thing you ever asked me?'.

Hermione jumped about a foot, and whispered back angrily, 'Harry, you scared me! You couldn't have given me some warning?' Harry prodded Hermione gently in the neck. 'Oh _all right_! Umm, I think I asked you if you had seen Neville's toad.' Harry relaxed, and grabbing her hand, dragged her around to the back of the house. There he pulled off the cloak and gave her a quick hug, but Hermione pulled him into a tighter hug and whispered 'I'm so glad to see you Harry, it's been too hard staying at home with everything that has happened' She still couldn't bring herself to say that Dumbledore was dead.

'Come on Hermione, we don't have long. We have to go now!' Harry whispered urgently into her hair.

'Oh all right. Hold on tight.' With a quiet _pop_, they, along with a trunk and bird cage vanished. It was 00:02.

Fifty miles away in Croxley, two forms suddenly appeared in an alley. Luckily there was no one around, on account of it being passed midnight; and they were able to make their way to a tall building which clearly housed many flats. Ascending in the lift to the 5th floor, they came before a newly painted door. Harry had had the flat redecorated before moving in, and as he fished around in his pocket for his keys, Hermione looked up and down the corridor, making certain no one was walking about. Finally, he pulled the keys out and unlocked the door. He and Hermione entered quickly, deposited the trunk and cage, and pulling out their wands, started mumbling quietly, waving their wands in complex motions. The walls of the flat glowed blue for a brief instant, as they rendered the flat unplotable. Hermione quickly marched out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving Harry to cast the Fidelius Charm. Three minutes later, the door vanished, leaving a blank wall, and Hermione grinned, '_He can cast some pretty impressive stuff when he puts his mind to it._' she thought. Her grin disappeared when she realised that in fact he had to put his mind to it, this was a life and death situation for Harry, he had to get the charm right if he was to remain hidden. Harry appeared beside her a few seconds later, pulling his cloak off.

'Can you see the door Hermione?' He asked her, anxiety and fatigue clearly discernable in his voice. She noticed that his brow was beaded with sweat; evidently the charm took a lot out of him. It was after all far beyond NEWT level.

'No Harry, it's perfect, I suddenly had no idea where you were. Fortunately, no one else knows where you are either, so they hopefully won't have detected a difference.'

'Good, I'm exhausted. Do you want to come in and help me unpack or go home? I suppose it could wait until tomorrow.' He finished, swaying slightly.

'No, I'll come in and help now, but Harry, you need to show me where it is.'

'Oh yeah,' he reddened, 'I forgot. Here you go.' He pulled a piece of parchment out which read:

_Harry Potter may be found at Flat 5c, Cherrycroft Flats, Barlon Way, Croxley._

Harry took the parchment off her and set fire to it with his wand, banishing the ashes. Hermione thought of the address on the parchment, and as she reached the part about Flat 5c, the newly painted door suddenly appeared where there had previously been a wall.

'Oh Harry, I'm so proud of you, it worked!' she threw her arms around him, at which point he very nearly did collapse. 'Oh I'm sorry. Come on, let me help you in.' Hermione practically had to drag Harry in, and quickly dropped himon a sofa, before running to the small kitchen to get him a glass of water. She hurried had and tried to pour it into his mouth, but he had passed out and wasn't cooperating. Suddenly worried, Hermione whipped out her wand and muttered '_Enervate_', but it had no effect on Harry whatsoever.

Panicking, she threw the tap water on him hoping the cold water would wake him, but to no avail, Harry didn't open his eyes.

Hermione was about to call her parents, who being doctors, may be able to help, when Harry let out a quiet snore; Hermione almost fainted from relief. Scouting out the rest of the flat, she levitated him onto his bed, where she left him. Quickly unpacking his books, parchment and clothes, she wrote a quick note saying she would be back in the morning, and left, closing the door gently behind her.

Leaving Harry sprawled on his bed; she couldn't help but grin, thinking of the looks on their friends when they found out what they had done. After returning to the alley behind the block of flats, she apparated back her room; her parents never need know that she had left house for less than an hour.


	3. Where is Potter

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER THREE –

_**Where is Potter?**_

Earlier that night, in a large, wood panelled room, an old man was filing through some parchments on his desk. It was approaching midnight and he was tiring quickly. Pulling off his wire-rimmed spectacles, and rubbing his eyes, he thought; '_I'm getting too old for this._' Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister for Magic had been reading through the reports of the latest attempt to find Snape and Malfoy.

Every time the Aurors thought they had found him, he slipped away again; he was proving to be just as elusive as Dumbledore had been. Rufus remembered all too well how Fudge, determined to arrest Dumbledore two years ago, had ordered Scrimgeour to find him at any cost. Needless to be said, Dumbledore had made a laughing stock of the Auror Office, deliberately making them chase him all over the country, for what appeared to be his own amusement. He apparated to Little Hangleton, some small village in Yorkshire, Knockturn and Diagon Alley, a small fishing village off the South Coast and most mysteriously, to a block of flats in Central London, not far from the Ministry of Magic. '_Well,_' thought Scrimgeour, 'thank _God that's over. Although Snape's no easier to find, and much more dangerous to capture; that curse last week,_' he shuddered, remembering how one Auror had been sent to St. Mungo's, his skin apparently ripped off.

His thoughts were interrupted, when someone knocked on his door,

'Come in.' He called, covering his mouth as he yawned. Percy Weasley ran in, breathless.

'Sir, we've found Potter's house, it just appeared on our house network.'

Scrimgeour sat up suddenly, grimaced as his back cracked, and smiled, '_Ah, some good news at last._'

'Well done Weasley, now send someone over there; I don't want him to move until I get there tomorrow morning. Make sure the Auror knows not to interact with Potter, I don't want him thinking that he's being watched; it'll only anger him more.'

'Yes Sir,' Percy bowed, 'I'll send someone immediately.' Leaving the room, he sprinted to the Auror Office. A few minutes later, there was a soft _pop_ at the end of Privet Drive, announcing the arrival of a disillusioned Auror.

Unfortunately, he was too late to hear the same sound being made just four houses down the street.

Deciding to make himself comfortable for the night, he transfigured a leaf into a heavily cushioned chair, disillusioned it, and sat down to a long night of waiting. Unknown to him, his quiet night of observation was soon going to be brusquely ended.

Two hundred miles away, Wormtail was cowering before the Dark Lord, giving him his report. '- and our informant in the Ministry just contacted me. Potter's house just appeared on their network too, no one understands why it was hidden bef-' a cold voice interrupted him.

'Wormtail, are you going to give me his location, or am I going to have to rip it out of you?' The Dark Lord demanded impatiently.

'He's in 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, in Surrey, my Lord.' Wormtail bent lower, squeezing his eyelids shut, fully expecting to be punished for taking so long to locate the Potter brat.

'Excellent, Wormtail. Now, I'm going to go and make a visit to our little friend, and when I return, I expect you to still be here.'

'Yes, my Lord.' Wormtail almost sighing in relief, he wasn't going to be tortured; yet.

'_Come Nagini; let's go pay Potter a visit_.' Voldemort hissed to his snake. He grinned, and thought; '_After tonight, I will be completely invincible. No one will be able to stand up to me; and, I'll finally have my seventh Horcrux. The wait will have been worth it._' Holding Nagini firmly, and grinning evilly; he apparated to Privet Drive.

Auror Tibbald was just dozing off on his disillusioned chair when he heard a very faint pop, almost unnoticeable. Without thinking, he jumped up, spinning around, wand drawn. Before he could register that Lord Voldemort had just apparated right behind him, with the biggest snake he had ever seen; Voldemort hissed, '_Avada Kedavra!_' A jet of green light erupted from his wand, hitting Tibbald squarely in the chest. He was dead before he fell to the floor, his Disillusionment Charm ended.

Voldemort walked over to the fallen Auror, and smirked. '_This is going to be too easy. A one Auror guard; and Potter's probably asleep. Scrimgeour evidently doesn't care much for him._' He strode up to the front door of the Dursleys' home, pointing at the lock. '_Alohomora_' there was an audible _click_, and Voldemort opened the door.

Climbing the stairs silently, he opened one of the doors on the first floor. Finding a boy, as fat as a pig, snoring, he closed the door silently. The next room he checked was a bathroom. On the third try, he opened the door to reveal a cutting of the Prophet lying on the floor. '_Ah, _finally_, the moment has come!_' He burst into the room, and screamed '_Avada Kedavra!_' pointing his wand at the bed. Green light exploded from his wand, and the bed shattered; it was empty.

From down the hallway, Voldemort heard what sounded like a wounded rhinoceros. 'Right, that's _it_; I've had enough of him! I cannot stand this freakishness anymore. _POTTER_!' Voldemort heard the squeaking of springs, as if a huge weight had just been lifted off one of the beds. A loud _bang_, quickly followed by heavy stomping rang through the house. '_This can't be right, where's Potter! I _must_ have the right room – there are the cuttings from the Prophet. He can't have left, there was an Auror outside, they must think he's here too. So do the Muggles. WHERE IS HE?_' These jumbled thoughts ran through Voldemort's head, but before he could move, the door was slammed back on its hinges; and the biggest man he had ever seen, his face puce from anger, stormed into the room.

Seeing Voldemort he stopped dead, 'and who the bloody hell are you!' he yelled, 'Another one of those freaks I suppose? You want to take him to that demented school early? Fine then, good riddance. But I want you both out of my house NOW!' He was about to leave, when he noticed the broken bed, and that Harry was nowhere to be seen. Positively pulsing with rage, he yelled, 'and where the hell _is_ he? What did he do to my furniture? I swear if I find him I'll wring his worthless neck!' He advanced on Voldemort yelling, 'Well what are you still doing here? Get out of my house! And who gave you the right to come in, in the middle of the night anyway? GET OU-' but he never finished his sentence.

Voldemort, finally coming out of his shock at getting screamed at by a Muggle, a Muggle no less; whipped out his wand and hissed '_Silencio_', quickly followed by '_Crucio!_' The fat man collapsed on the floor, silently screaming in agony. A tall, bony woman ran in, and seeing her husband being tortured; screamed.

Voldemort, finally realising that Harry Potter had escaped him again, yelled in frustration, and releasing the man from the curse for a second, immobilised and silenced the screaming woman. He quickly returned his attention to the man, who was now being sick on the floor, silently whimpering in pain.

'No one speaks to the Dark Lord in that manner, _especially_ not a Muggle' he hissed, before torturing Vernon Dursley again. After venting his anger on Vernon, Voldemort moved on to Petunia, and finally Dudley, who had been cowering in his cupboard ever since he heard his mother's scream of fear.

After torturing them all into insanity, he proceeded to cut parts of them off, intent on letting them die a slow and very painful death.

Leaving Nagini to drink her fill of their blood, he walked outside and pondered over where Potter could be hiding. '_He's probably at that Muggle loving fool's, Weasley. I'll send Wormtail to scout out their house in the morning._' Calling Nagini, he cast the Dark Mark over the house, and holding her firmly, apparated back to Riddle Manor.

As we walked up to the back door, he remembered that Wormtail was still there, and grinned, '_There are a few more hours until dawn; Wormtail can pay for his mistake until then._'

At seven o'clock the next morning, Rufus Scrimgeour got up, showered and dressed. By nine, he had finished breakfast and flooed to the Ministry. Walking into the Auror Office, he picked three of his most trusted law enforcers, and apparated to Privet Drive.

The sight of the dead Auror sent goosebumps up and down his neck. Limping as fast as he could, he entered 4 Privet Drive, followed closely by two Aurors – the other had apparated the body of Tibbald to St. Mungo's Hospital, and gone to get Medi-witches and reinforcements. Seeing the Dark Mark, he was expecting the worst, and he was not disappointed.

The sight that met them sickened the tough ex-Auror; the other two would be haunted by nightmares of what they saw for the rest of their lives. Gagging, they all ran outside to throw up.

_Pop_, _pop_, _pop_, _pop_, _pop_. Three Aurors and two Medi-witches appeared. Scrimgeour told them to go inside and clear the bodies up for examination and burial.

An hour later, an old Auror came back out, his face pale. 'Was Potter one of the casualties?' asked Scrimgeour urgently.

'No Sir, his body and all his belongings are gone. It looks like he may have escaped in time Sir.' Replied the pale-faced Auror.

'Good. Any idea who might have done this?' questioned Scrimgeour.

'Well Sir, the style of the murders strongly resembles some of the Muggle deaths from the First War, in particular the ones associated with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I think He came here to murder Harry Potter personally Sir, there is also evidence that a large snake was with Him Sir. It appears that He may have brought Nagini with him, Sir.'

'_Nagini eh, now why would he bring that snake along?_' Scrimgeour mused.

'Alright Dawlish, I want you to finish clearing this mess up, and obliviate the neighbours. I don't want any of them to call _their_ "please-men". I expect a report on my office desk by tonight.'

'Yes Sir.' Scrimgeour limped a small distance away, before turning on the spot, and vanishing with a _pop_.

As Scrimgeour was apparating back to the Ministry, 150 miles away, Wormtail was finally returning to the Burrow.


	4. Letters and Parcels

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER FOUR –

_**Letters and Parcels**_

Harry woke up around ten o'clock the next morning, but for the first time in a very long time, he did not have the sudden urge to jump out of bed. He lay under his covers for a few moments, watching the dust particles swirl in the ray of sunlight coming through the blinds of the window, of _his_ home. Harry had never had a room of his own in his life, '_Well apart from when I was a baby; but that hardly counts,_' and now he had his own flat.

As he mulled over these thoughts, a feeling of euphoria crept into the deepest recesses of his mind, and the three words '_MY OWN HOME_' jumped out at him. A huge smile broke over his face.

He climbed out of bed slowly, taking his time to prolong the feeling of contentment, and ambled over to the bathroom. Noticing that Hermione had unpacked all his toiletries for him, he took a long, hot shower, towelled off and brushed his teeth. Walking back into his room, he opened the wardrobe, and looking at his rather limited supply of clothes, decided he'd go shopping later that day for some Muggle clothes that actually _fitted_ him. Even after growing another few inches this summer, Dudley's clothes didn't fit.

After getting dressed, we went to the kitchen, and was about to check if the landlady had left him any food like he asked, when he heard a tapping on the window in the living room. He jogged over, and opened the window, and had to take a step back, as no less that ten owls flew through his window. Surprised, he started taking the letters and packages off the owls, before going to get them some water. After they had a drink and a few owl treats – he found them unpacked near Hedwig's cage, the owls left; hunger forgotten; Harry sat down on the sofa and started opening the packages.

The first was a birthday present from Ron, who'd bought him a Wizard's Chess Set, with a note saying:

_Happy Birthday mate, it's not every day you turn 17. I got you this so that you can get some practise; you don't want me beating you too easily next time do you? Anyway, watch out for yourself, and don't let the Muggles get you down, now you can threaten them right? Mum's trying to find out when Moody will let you come over (did you know that he's taken over the Order? Anyway, he has). So keep your chin up, Ron _

As he read this, Harry remembered that no one knew where he was with the exception of Hermione. He was going to have to write to Ron to tell him he was alright, or Molly Weasley would start to panic. '_Actually, everyone's going to panic if they think the _Chosen One_ has disappeared._' He thought glumly, '_Oh well, there goes my plan to hide from Voldemort and hunt down the Horcruxes in secrecy. I can't do that if I have to show my face in public. At least my flat can remain hidden though._' Reading the letter again, he got to the part about Moody taking over the Order.

Harry was surprised; he hadn't really thought much about the Order since Dumbledore's death, and had half-expected it to fall apart. After all, Dumbledore had founded it. He was happy to hear that the Order members were still united and determined to fight Voldemort. He strongly approved of Moody as the new leader, he would keep to a no-nonsense policy, and wouldn't let anyone join that he didn't personally trust, especially after Snape's treachery.

He opened another package, this one from Hagrid. He'd sent Harry some photos of Harry with Dumbledore, most of which appeared to have been taken in the Hospital Wing. Harry smiled wryly, thinking about the number of times he'd ended up in there.

The next present was from the twins, they had sent Harry a huge assortment of products with a note reading:

_Harry, now it's _you_ who's in need of a few laughs, Lord knows you'll need them now. We thought of sending you the thousand galleons back, but figured you'd probably just come and spend it in our shop, so we saved you the trouble! There's a thousand galleons worth of our products in there, including some from our new line that we showed you last year. Use them well! Fred and George_

Harry grinned broadly when he read this, sifting through the bag to see what they'd sent him. He noticed a postscript at the bottom, and continued reading; his grin turning into a scowl as he read on.

_p.s. We've now taken to checking people's left arm before letting them buy from our new line, we won't sell anything to anyone we don't trust either. We're so sorry that we sold the powder to that git Malfoy. It won't happen again._

'_Well, at least we won't be attacked again by people using Fred and George's stuff._' He thought sullenly.

Pushing the twins' package aside, he saw an envelope with the seal of Gringotts on it. Intrigued, he picked it up, and opened it. Inside, was a letter, written by Ragnog, asking Harry to come and meet him to receive the keys to the Potter vaults, and the – '_Hold on, did that say the _Potter _vaults? I have family vaults, and more than one by the sound of it. How come I never heard of these before?_' He read on – keys to his parents' vault. His head reeling, Harry leaned back on the sofa.

At that moment, there was a quiet knock on the door. He got up unsteadily, and walked over to the door, opening it to see a sombre-looking Hermione.

'Hermione, you won't believe this! I just got a letter from Gringotts asking me to go visit them. Apparently, they have keys to give to me, keys to the Potter vaults and my parents' vault, can you believe this? The Potter vaults, I can't begin to imagine what could be in there, I mean there could be -' His ramblings ended as he finally noticed her sombre face. 'Hermione, what is it?' he asked, looking concerned, 'Was there an attack?' She nodded, and hesitantly, she asked;

'Harry, you get the Prophet right? Haven't you read it yet?'

'No, I've been a bit busy opening letters and presents. Why, what happened?' Fear started to creep into his mind, and the worst possible scenarios played themselves before his eyes. The Weasleys dead, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Ginny …

'_Oh my God,_' he thought, _'if he's harmed Ginny, I swear I'll kill him with my bare hands._'

'Harry, Voldemort attacked your aunt and uncle. He murdered the Dursleys.'

Harry swayed at Hermione's words. He thought they'd be safe if he left, their house wouldn't be the target anymore. '_Dear God, what have I done?_'

True, he hated the Dursleys, but he never wished their deaths. He'd seen far too much of it to wish it on anyone.

'What happened?' was all he could say.

'Well, the Prophet said that the Minister sent an Auror there for your protection the moment they found out where you lived. You know, Dumbledore's secrecy wards fell as soon as you turned 17; well, it looks like Voldemort found out at the same time, because he showed up in Privet Drive around midnight. He murdered the Auror stationed there and; oh Harry, he tortured all of them; even Dudley, and then left them to die. Harry I'm _so_ sorry.'

Harry swayed on the spot, and was about to collapse when Hermione caught him, and dragged him to the sofa. '_Well, the situation hasn't improved much since last night; at least he's conscious though._' She thought. She got him a glass of water from the kitchen, and watched him for a bit; she could almost read his thoughts. '_He's blaming himself again. Oh dear; I'll have to break him out of it before he's too far gone._'

'Harry, listen, it's not your fault that they died. I know you never wanted them dead, and you would have fought for their lives if you'd been there; but if we hadn't left when we did, we would almost certainly be dead too. The Prophet said the Auror and Voldemort arrived just after midnight. We _left_ just after midnight. That means that we couldn't have been more that a few seconds ahead of them.

Harry, there is _nothing_ that you could have done to save them. Voldemort _himself_ set out to kill you last night; do you honestly think you could have beaten him? The Dursleys were going to die last night whether you were there on not, but if you were there, who would have defeated Voldemort? You know that he can't be killed yet, he still has four Horcruxes that you need to destroy – well three if you count the locket, but we can't be sure that it's been destroyed yet.' Harry had curled up into a ball on the sofa, tears coursing down his face, 'Harry listen to me, please,' Hermione pleaded, 'don't do this to yourself. I know it hurts, but you can't let it govern you.'

Seeing that her words weren't having an effect on him, Hermione leaned forward and hugged him, crooning.

'Shh, everything will be alright now. Cry your heart out, come on now.' It tore at her heart to see him like this, he'd had known only suffering his whole life. Sobbing into his shoulder, he cried out,

'Why? Why me? Why does it always have to happen to me? Why does some stupid prophecy have to govern my life? Why does everyone around me have to die? I'm a curse.' He tried to push Hermione away, 'Get away from me; I don't want you to die too. Get away!' He cried out. Hermione held on tighter and kept crooning to him.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, his eyes dried up; they had no more tears to shed, and Hermione released him.

'Have you had breakfast yet Harry?' He shook his head, 'Right, in that case, I'll make you a small one, and later you can take me out to get lunch, seeing you seem to have so much money now.' she tried to lighten the mood, but Harry didn't pick up the cue. 'Does that sound alright Harry?' Harry nodded, not really listening to her.

Hermione went to the kitchen, found some bread and jam in the cupboard, and made him some jam sandwiches. '_We'll have to go buy some food, that landlady hardly left him anything_' and returned to the lounge. She found Harry sifting through the remaining letters and packages absentmindedly, not really focussing on the contents.

She noticed a large parcel with the letters WWW emblazoned on it ('_That must be from the twins_'), a Wizard's Chess Set ('_Clearly from Ron_'), what appeared to be a Foe-Glass ('_Obviously from Moody'_), some photos ('_I wonder who sent them'_), the usual Weasley jumper and cakes from Molly, a nice looking bottle of aftershave ('_That's probably Ginny's present_'), and a pair of knobbly, odd socks that were probably from Dobby.

Hermione approached Harry warily, as he started pulling the wrapping off one of the last packages with evident vigour. Inside was a book on Defensive Spells; the letter next to it was signed by Lupin.

Pulling him away from the presents, she forced him to eat the sandwiches. When he had finished, she took the empty plate to the kitchen, cleaned it using her wand, and returned to Harry. He was ripping open the last present, another book; this one from Tonks, titled _Wandless Magic for Beginners_. The note read:

_Wotcher Harry, Happy Birthday. I hope you enjoy turning 17; it should be a special day for everyone. Anyway, I hope you find the book useful; especially after you're rather eventful start to school last year. Try it out a bit before school; it could be fun to surprise your friends with your newly acquired skills! Enjoy, Tonks_

'_Wow,_' thought Hermione and Harry simultaneously, '_this could prove to be_ very _useful!_' Their grins betrayed their thoughts, and they fell about laughing for a few minutes.

After they'd finally managed to control themselves, Hermione asked Harry if he'd like to go out shopping for food and clothes, as both his cupboard and wardrobe were empty. He agreed, but insisted on sending a note to Ron with Hedwig first, saying that he was ok, and would come and visit as soon as he had a few things sorted out. Sending Hedwig off, they walked out of the block of flats, Hermione guiding Harry towards the nearest grocery shop.


	5. Scabbers Found

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER FIVE –

_**Scabbers Found**_

Having bought enough food for Harry to survive a few more days and an entire new wardrobe, Harry and Hermione returned to his flat to drop off the shopping bags. Waiting for them, was an owl with a letter from Ron, well Mrs. Weasley actually, as she'd interrupted Ron's response to say how she had been worried sick for him. She also wanted him to come and visit them as soon as possible so that she could make sure that he was alright.

Harry opted to check the remainder of his letters before leaving, and asked Hermione if she could take him. She agreed, but wanted to tell her parents where she was first; Harry told her to go see how they were while he read his letters, and they'd apparate to the Burrow when she returned.

There were two parcels left, one was a copy of the Daily Prophet, and the other had a seal bearing the Ministry of Magic's arms'. Intrigued, Harry opened the envelope which was addressed to _Mr Potter, location unknown_. Inside he found a summons to attend a reading of Dumbledore's will at the Ministry the next day, at 11 am. He put it down slowly as memories of that night up on the Astronomy Tower flooded over him. He still couldn't believe that he was gone.

Unwilling to let Hermione find him in this state again, he brushed the back of his hand over his eyes, shook his head vigorously to clear the dismal thoughts away, and looked at the copy of the Daily Prophet. For a few minutes he read in silence, shocked at the brutality that Voldemort had displayed towards the Dursleys. Finally putting the newspaper down, he thought glumly, '_Well that's one more reason to destroy him. I can't let him do this to anyone else. Now, where's Hermione?_' As he processed that thought, there was a knock on the door. He jumped up to open it to a smiling Hermione,

'They said I could go, and stay as long as I wanted; so I brought a few clothes and books. I'm not sure how long Ron will want me to spend there.' Harry grinned knowingly. Reddening slightly, she ploughed ahead. 'Well are you ready or not? Aren't you going to bring some clothes?'

'I can't stay; I need to go to the Ministry tomorrow for a reading of Dumbledore's will. I'm nearer to London here.'

'Harry, stop being silly, you can Floo there from the Weasleys.'

'Oh yea,' his cheeks flushing pink, 'I forgot. I guess I just don't like the Floo network much.'

'Harry, if you want, you can take the apparition test with Ron tomorrow while you're at the Ministry. He booked himself in for the 10 o'clock test; that way you only have to Floo one way.'

'But, I've only managed to apparate once, I'm not ready!' Harry panicked, not wanting to splinch himself in the slightest. Hermione pushed on, looking frustrated for some reason.

'Twice Harry and the second time you did it carrying someone.'

'You're not annoyed that I upped you one are you?' Harry looked surprised, 'Look, that was a life-and-death situation. If I hadn't been so panicked, I probably couldn't have done it. I was practically running only on adrenaline by then; it wouldn't be the same in a test.' 

'Right,' Hermione responded brightly, 'if that's the problem, I'll ask Voldemort to show up at the Ministry at 10 so that you can be in a life-and-death situation. Although you'd probably stand and fight.' She finished, muttering in exasperation. Harry grinned, knowing full well that she was right; as usual.

'Alright, I'll take the test tomorrow, but if I splinch myself and make a fool of myself, I'll hex you into next week! Now can we please go to the Weasleys before Mrs. Weasley has a panic attack?'

'Only when you've packed some clothes; unless of course if you intend to spend the next few days in those.' She added cheekily, smirking.

'Alright, I'll get my stuff; just hold on a minute.' He ran to his bedroom, and threw some of his new clothes and toiletries into a bag. Stuffing his wand up his sleeve, he ran back, 'Right, I'm ready. Let's go.'  
Harry was about to lock the door, when he remembered Hedwig. He ran back in, and apologising profusely, opened her cage door and the window, telling her that he'd be back in a few days and not to go to the Weasleys. '_She's far too recognisable for her own good_' he thought.

They hurried down to the alley, and Hermione was about to grab his arm, when Harry thought of something.

'Hermione, can you apparate us inside the Burrow? I know it's rude, but Voldemort might have someone watching their house in case I show up.' He looked nervous, thinking of how many things could go wrong if he was spotted there by a Death Eater.

'Sure Harry, I'm sure no one will mind if we explain the problem to them.' She smiled reassuringly, and gripped Harry's arm firmly, before spinning quickly on the spot, thinking of the Burrow.

Harry recognised the horrible feeling of compression immediately, but before he could wonder whether it would always feel like this, or whether it got better with practise, he'd landed in Ron's room.

Looking around, he saw that not much had changed since the last year, '_or all the years before that_' he thought. There were still the same posters of the Chudley Cannons on the walls and ceiling, the players whirling around the pitch and waving at them. The fish-tank still housed a giant frog, and Pig was still in his small cage, hopping up and down, and twittering madly.

'Hello Pig, happy to see us I gather?' Harry murmured, stroking the small ball of fluff.

'Harry, we should go downstairs and announce ourselves. Heaven knows, Mrs. Weasley's probably going spare at the moment. Come on.' They walked downstairs, and walked into the kitchen to find Mrs. Weasley at the table with Fleur, going over bouquet designs. Looking up to see who had come down, Mrs. Weasley screeched in shock. Jumping up to embrace them, she asked excitedly,

'Harry, Hermione! What are you doing there? When do you get here? Oh, I've been worried sick about you Harry, how did you get upstairs? I didn't hear you come in.' Fleur was smiling up at him, glowing faintly. 

She was about to continue pelting them with questions when Ron and Ginny ran in from the garden, brooms in hand, and brandishing their wands.

'What's going on, we heard -' Ginny saw Harry, squealed, and ran into his arms.

'Harry! Hermione! How are you? We've been waiting for you all morning, ever since your letter arrived. Where did you go? We were so worried when we read what happened in the paper this morning.' Harry cut her off at this point, and pushing her away, he pulled out his wand. 'Harry, what are you doing?' She asked, suddenly worried.

'_Muffliato_' he muttered, pointing at the doors and windows, before turning back to them, smiling. 'Sorry about that, I just wanted to make sure that we weren't overheard.'

'Harry, what was that spell?' Mrs. Weasley asked, 'And what do you mean _overheard_? We're in my house!'

'Well,' Harry started, awkwardly shifting his stance, 'I think that there's a possibility that, erm, you see, Voldemort -' Mrs. Weasley, Ron and Fleur flinched violently.

'Oh, for Christ's sake Harry, if you can't get it out, let me. Harry thinks, and I agree with him, that Voldemort,' they winced again, 'has probably stationed a Death Eater in the vicinity so that if Harry shows up, he'll know.' Ron's eyes widened, and mouthed everyone's fear.

'But then, he could already know that you're here. They would have seen you walk in. We have to leave _now_.' 

'Well,' Harry started, 'that's why Mrs. Weasley saw us coming from upstairs. We thought it would be safer to apparate to somewhere inside the house. As for leaving, I don't think that's necessary; you two were outside just now,' he looked at Ron and Ginny, 'did you hear your mum yelling our names?'

'No mate, we heard her screech, and ran over.' Ron answered, still unconvinced. 'What if the Death Eater's inside though? He would have heard mum for sure.'

'That's a possibility Ron,' Hermione answered, 'but in all likelihood, Voldemort probably didn't want his spy found. He probably told him to stay outside and watch for us apparating in. He probably knew that Harry didn't have access to the Floo network, so -'

At that moment, Harry whipped out his wand again and pointing at the windowsill, he yelled '_Stupefy!_' Instantly, three other wands were drawn and pointing at the ledge, but it was unnecessary, Harry had hit his target. Next second, they heard a dull thud, as something hit the ground outside.

'Harry, what was that?' Ginny asked fearfully, looking at Harry's face, which was etched in fury. 'Harry, are you ok?' Harry didn't reply, instead whispering in a cold voice, '_Accio Pettigrew_', pointing at the window.

In flew a thin, grey rat; its right paw was silver. Harry caught it and quickly cast another Stunning Spell at it. Hermione's eyes grew wide as she realised what Harry had just done. 'Harry, is that Peter? How did you know it was him?' She asked, breathless.

He was about to answer when she said, 'Hold on a second.' She conjured a glass jar, and gave it to Harry, who immediately realised what she was about to do. He put the rat in the jar, and Hermione sealed it before casting an Unbreakable Charm on it. The others watched in silence, only Ron had fully realised what was going on.

Harry visibly relaxed when Hermione cast the Charm, and sat down, putting the jar on the table. 'Now, will one of you two just explain to me what just happened?' Mrs. Weasley asked. Clearly she had recognised the rat as Scabbers, and didn't understand why Harry had called him Pettigrew. She hadn't been told that he had been hiding in her house for twelve years, and hadn't made the connection.

Harry rubbed his eyes, thinking of how to word his answer. Finally, deciding that total honestly was the best route at this point, he answered.

'The rat I just stunned is Peter Pettigrew; I saw a flash of light reflect off his paw. He's an animagus, you knew that right?' Mrs. Weasley nodded hesitantly, but before so could ask what that had to do with it, he continued.

'Peter was the Secret Keeper for my parents and betrayed them to Voldemort. After Voldemort's disappearance, Sirius tracked him down, and confronted him. Peter blew the street open; and cutting off his finger, transformed into a rat, escaping into the sewer system. Sirius was accused of his murder and that of twelve Muggles.'

He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, his face ashen. Mrs. Weasley nodded in understanding. Dumbledore had never fully explained why Sirius had been _wrongfully_ imprisoned, just saying that he had. '_This is beginning to make sense,_' she thought, '_no wonder Sirius was so protective of Harry, he still felt guilty for James and Lily's betrayal._' Harry continued slowly.

'Anyway, after escaping Sirius, Pettigrew hid here as a rat for twelve years, waiting to hear if Voldemort returned. Sirius -'

'What?' Mrs. Weasley interrupted; her face red with anger. 'Are you saying that Scabbers was Pettigrew? He was _here_; in _my_ house?'

'Yea mum, Sirius and Remus uncovered him in third year,' Ron answered, 'but he escaped. He's been on the run since.' Harry was eternally grateful for Ron's timely response. He didn't want to think of Sirius anymore, the memories were still painful.

Hermione, seeing Harry's relief when Ron answered instead of him, picked up the story. 'He helped Voldemort regain his body, and must have been sent here to spy on you like we said would happen. If Harry hadn't used the Muffliato Spell, he wouldn't have had to approach the window to see if we were here. We wouldn't have caught him, and -' she hesitated.

'And we'd all be dead by now.' Ginny finished bluntly, 'Mum, it looks like Harry's just saved us all again.' Mrs. Weasley was in shock, and didn't respond. Turning to Harry, Ginny said, 'Well, mum's going to be rude, so I'll just have to thank you on her behalf. Harry, thank you for saving all our lives; again.' She winked. Harry smiled back at her weakly.

Finally coming out of her shock, probably due to her daughter's slur on her manners, Mrs. Weasley launched herself at Harry, her eyes blurred with tears. 'Oh Harry, thank you _so_ much.' She cried, hugging him tightly, 'You've gone and saved all our lives again. I don't know what we'd do without you.'

'Probably live a much quieter life.' Harry mumbled under his breath, embarrassed by my attention. Unfortunately, everyone heard him, and burst out laughing. A few minutes later, they all calmed down, and Mrs. Weasley released Harry, who was just glad that he could breathe again.

Fleur rushed over to him too at this point, and swooped down to land a kiss on both his cheeks: his skin where she'd kissed him felt like it was on fire.

''Arry, zank you for saving my life. I know zat Bill will be very 'appy too when I tell 'im tonight!' Harry cheeks flushed at the praise (and the kisses), and could only look down at his shoes and mumble'

'It was nothing, really.' Ginny, seeing his discomfort, rushed to his aid.

'Harry, shouldn't we take Scab – I mean Pettigrew to the Ministry?' She asked pointedly, 'He needs to be arrested and put in jail doesn't he?'

'Ye, good idea Ginny. Why don't I take him to the Ministry with Ron and Hermione? Maybe Ron and I can take our apparition test early while we're there, though they'll probably want to question us. I don't know how long that'll take.' He finished glumly, knowing full well that Scrimgeour would use this opportunity to question Harry on his and Dumbledore's activities again.

'Why don't we all go?' Mrs. Weasley asked. 'After all, having some adult eyewitnesses can't hurt, and we can go tell Arthur what happened. I'm sure he'll be happy to know that Pettigrew's behind bars.' Then she added with a motherly smile, 'Anyway, you know I'd be worried sick if I let you go on your own.'

They all smiled indulgently at Mrs. Weasley's strong maternal instincts and agreed. Ron lit the fireplace, and one by one they picked up some Floo powder from the pot. Calling out 'Ministry of Magic', they walked into the fire, Harry carrying the glass jar with Pettigrew in it.

As the fireplaces rushed past him, Harry wondered if his summer could possibly get any more eventful. '_Judging by my luck,_' he thought wryly, '_this is only the beginning._' He sincerely hoped that he was wrong, but deep down; he knew that searching for the broken pieces of a dark lord's soul would be anything but uneventful.


	6. Auror Headquarters

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER SIX –

_**Auror Headquarters**_

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Ministry's Atrium, near the now restored Fountain of Magical Brethren. They strode over to Eric, who scanned them with what Harry now knew was a Secrecy Sensor, and took all their wands. He handed them each a slip of paper and warned not to lose them if they wanted their wands back.

Harry led them to the elevators, and they descended to Level Two, the cool, female voice making her usual announcement. 'Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administrative Services.'

Harry strode out as soon as the doors opened, not wanting to think about the last time he'd used this elevator. He'd been chasing Bellatrix Lestrange after she'd murdered Sirius; his blood boiled at the memory, and he had to fight to keep himself calm. Heading towards the nearest cubicle labelled _Auror Headquarters_, Harry paused, wondering how he was going to explain that he'd captured a dark wizard who was meant to have died sixteen years ago, and that he was currently carrying him in his unlicensed Animagus form; in a _glass_ jar.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the cubicle, hoping that it belonged to an Auror he knew from the Order. It didn't; he was about to turn around and look in another cubicle, when the Auror turned around.

He was young, no more than twenty-five years old; but his face was lined and his eyes were circled by black lines. Suddenly Harry was strongly reminded of Remus, 'He must be under a _lot_ of stress. I hope I don't look like that at his age.' He was interrupted from his thoughts by the young Auror.

'May I help you?' He asked politely, but he couldn't quite hide the irritation of being disturbed, clearly intent on finishing what looked like a lengthy report.

'Ah, actually, I'm here to help _you_.' Harry cleared his throat, unsure how to proceed.

'Really?' The Auror replied, arching his eyebrows sarcastically. Harry twitched nervously, and pulled out the jar.

'Well, the thing is, I've got this rat here you see; only he's not actually a rat. He's an Animagus, and a Death Eater. I caught him trying to spy on me.' The Auror had been startled when Harry said he'd caught a Death Eater, but was suspicious, when he then announced that the so called Death Eater was spying on him.

'And what makes you think you're so important that he'd be spying on you?' He asked, sure that Harry wouldn't have a proper answer for him and would leave him be. '_I really need to get this report in,_' he thought wearily, '_I don't think I can go on for another day without a good night's sleep._' For an answer, Harry lifted his fringe, clearly displaying his scar.

The Auror jumped out of his seat in shock, 'Oh my God. Are you really Harry Potter?' Not leaving Harry enough time to reply, he continued. 'It's such an honour to meet you Sir. I can't believe I'm meeting you; my sister, Romilda Vane, do you know her? Anyway, she's told me all about you.' He blurted on like this for a while, ignoring Harry's grimace.

'So she said that you had -'

'Look, I really do have a Death Eater in my pocket.' Harry interrupted, now fed up of hearing about what Romilda had said about him, 'Now, if you want to arrest him, it would really help, I have quite a lot of things to do today.' He couldn't believe of all the Aurors he could have asked to help, he'd picked Romilda's elder brother.

The Auror looked shocked for a moment for a second, but recovered immediately. 'Of course Mr. Potter, let me get a Senior Auror for you, I ah,' he blushed slightly, 'don't know how to force an Animagus to reveal himself.'

'_Great,_' Harry thought to himself, '_he's a chatterbox, and incompetent. How did he ever become an Auror?_' His respect for the Auror was rapidly diminishing. Vane ran out the cubicle, and returned a few minutes later with Kingsley Shacklebolt. Kingsley grinned,

'Hi Harry, how are you?' Smiling weakly, Harry replied.

'Fine thanks.'

'I believe congratulations are in order, happy birthday.' Harry looked confused for a minute, then remembered that he was seventeen today; so much had happened since last night. He smiled warmly.

'Thanks Kingsley.'

'Your welcome, now; to what do we owe the pleasure? After all, not many young wizards choose to spend their time in the Auror Office, especially not on their birthdays.' Grinning wickedly, Harry replied in an off-hand manner.

'Well you know, I thought I'd have a look around. After all, I want to be an Auror after Hogwarts.' Nodding approvingly, Kingsley played along.

'And we'd be lucky to have you. From what I heard, you taught an entire group how to fend for themselves, and even taught them how to cast a Patronus. Not many adults can cast one, you know; most impressive.' Harry smiled warmly, glowing from the compliment.

'Well, I did have another reason to visit. You see, I caught a rat this morning, and I thought he'd interest you. It's quite an oddity you know; not many rats have silver paws.' He smiled smugly when he saw Kingsley blanch in shock. Kingsley leaned forward,

'You caught Pettigrew?' He whispered urgently. Harry nodded happily. 'Can I see him?' Harry pulled the jar out of his pocket again, and handed it to Kingsley.

'Ingenious, I take it that it was Miss. Granger's idea to put him in an,' He tapped the jar with his wand, 'unbreakable' Harry nodded, 'jar?' Harry shrugged.

'I'd already stunned him twice, he wasn't going anywhere.' Kingsley nodded,

'They must have been quite strong spells Harry, he's still out cold.' Harry's face suddenly hardened.

'Ye well, let's just say that he deserved it; and if I'd had my way, you would probably have received him in a body bag.' Kingsley shuddered. He'd heard stories from other Order members about Peter's treachery, but Harry's response shook him to the core. '_I wouldn't ever want to be at the wrong end of his wand._' He thought, remembering that no one had survived as many confrontations with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named as Harry had.

'Right well, we'll take him from here Harry; you don't have to worry about him anymore. We'll just need some written declarations you and your friends telling us what happen, then you're free to go.' Harry nodded; this was expected, after all. Kingsley continued, 'I'd also like to congratulate you, and thank you. You've helped put a dangerous man behind bars, and hopefully, he'll stay there for a long, long time.' Harry nodded absently.

He wasn't interested in praise, he just wanted to leave with his friends and enjoy his birthday, now that he'd been reminded of it. Kingsley sensing his mood; said,

'Well why don't I go get you some parchment so that you can write down what happened?' He stood up, and called, '_Accio parchment!_' a small bundle flew towards him. He caught it, grinning. 'I took a page out of your book. Honestly, I don't know how no one ever thought about it before!'

'I had help with that.' Harry blushed, and pulling the parchment towards him, he grabbed a spare quill that was lying on Auror Vane's desk. He started writing his account of what happened that morning, while Kingsley went to get the others, who had been in Arthur's office recounting the same story.

He finished quickly, and signed it, just as Ginny came into the cubicle, looking happy.

'Hey Harry, can I borrow that? Hermione practically used up their whole stock.' Not waiting for an answer, she pulled the parchment and quill off Harry, who was smirking, and started writing. 'This is so exciting.' She said excitedly, 'Kingsley said they'll be a trial, and we will all be called as witnesses, and -' She looked up at Harry, who's face had turned a delicate shade of green.

'Harry, what is it? Is it about the TriWizard Tournament, you don't want to stand up and retell it do you?' He shook his head and sobbed quietly. Clearly, Cedric's death still haunted him. He never showed it, but she knew. 'Oh Harry, everything will be alright.' She leaned over and hugged him tightly, kissing him softly on the cheek.

At that moment, Ron and Hermione ran into the cubicle, cheeks flushed with excitement. 'I can't believe we're going to be called up, this is going to be _so_ cool, Harry -' Ron stopped abruptly when he saw Ginny hugging and kissing Harry gently. She spun around and blushed crimson; there was an awkward silence.

'It's ok Ron; Harry was just worried that he'd have to tell everyone what happened at the TriWizard Tournament. I was trying to comfort him.' Ginny said forcefully.

'You were doing a bit more than -' He was interrupted by Hermione, who kicked his shin. 'Ow! What was that for?' He yelled indignantly.

'What was what for Ronald?' Mrs. Weasley popped her head in.

'Oh, um nothing mum.' Ron's face turned as red as his hair.

'Right,' she looked suspiciously around the group, 'well when you've finished, I think we should leave. We've sent quite enough time here as it is, and it's Harry's birthday after all. We should be out celebrating.'

'Oh, that reminds me guys, thanks for all the presents. They were great.' Harry said earnestly.

'You're welcome mate, maybe we can break your set in tonight. I'll go easy on you as it's your birthday.' Ron winked, Harry sighed.

'What's the point in going easy? You know you'll win either way.' Ron grinned devilishly.

'That's true, maybe if you should practise with on of the garden gnomes, that'll be a bit fairer, though I'd still hedge my bets against you!' Ron's grin widened

'Hey! I'm not that bad, you're just too good!' Harry complained.

The girls rolled their eyes, '_boys'_ they both thought. Hermione stood up,

'Well when you two have finished arguing, maybe you'd like to leave?' Ron and Harry shut their mouths and got up. Ginny quickly finished her account, signed, and they left, Fleur attracting the attention of every male on the way out.

When they got back, Mrs. Weasley asked Harry what he'd like to do for the rest of the day, as most of it had been wasted. Harry opted for a game of Quidditch. So a few minutes later, Harry, Ron and Ginny trumped out of the home, brooms in hand; Harry had borrowed Bill's for the afternoon.

Hermione followed them outside to sit and watch, and they played a leisurely game of Quidditch for the rest of the day. Ron played Keeper, and Ginny and Harry played Chaser, trying to get the ball past Ron. They had a great time, and when it started to go dark, they marched back inside, took showers, and joined Hermione, Fleur and Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen. They were cooking dinner and discussing bouquet designs, as their earlier conversation had been interrupted. Hermione was only partially listening, and when the others came down, opted to follow them into the lounge, where they ate snacks and joked around until dinner.

Mrs. Weasley had prepared a sumptuous dinner as usual, and had invited a large number of people to celebrate Harry's birthday, mostly Order members and Luna and Neville.

Kingsley came, and informed them that, under Veritaserum, Pettigrew had turned out to be a veritable mine of information. He'd given them names of Death Eaters, their locations, who Voldemort was recruiting, his plans and a whole host of other information. Obviously he couldn't disclose the details, but he indicated that the next few weeks would probably see a number of raids and arrests, and to watch out for them in the Daily Prophet. He thanked Harry and the others again, saying that his arrest might turn out to be 'a crucial development in the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'.

Harry went pink at this point, and mumbled that he'd only stunned him, before turning to talk to Remus, who was just as, if not more proud of Harry than Kingsley. He'd finally avenged his parents, capturing the man who'd betrayed them all.

Trying to change the subject, Harry thanked Lupin for the book, promising him that he'd learn every spell in it by September 1st; he still hadn't told him that he wasn't returning to Hogwarts this year. He wondered when would be the right time, but decided that this wasn't it; not when everyone was so happy.

The twins showed up a bit later, and discreetly fed an unsuspecting Bill a Canary Cream. Everyone roared with laughter, apart from Mrs. Weasley, who pursed her lips in frustration. After changing back, Bill spent the rest of the night chasing the twins around the house, occasionally sending a hex in their direction. They laughed and put on their Shield Hats on. Before he knew it, the last hex Bill had shot at them bounced back, and he was covered in long orange fur. This time everyone started laughing, and it wasn't long until the girls were in fits of giggles on the floor. Hastily, Bill countered the charm, and blushing a bit, reminded himself never to try and hex Fred and George again.

'_Imagine if I'd used something more powerful, I could have been in _real_ trouble then._' He thought.

After a long night of talking and joking around, people began to leave, and yarning loudly, Harry say he was going to bed. Ginny followed him upstairs, but Ron and Hermione said they weren't tired yet. Harry was too exhausted to wonder what they were up to, and bidding Ginny good night at her door, he ascended to the twin's room, where Mrs. Weasley had said he could sleep again.

Slipping into his pyjamas, he climbed into bed. He was asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.


	7. The Will Reading

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER SEVEN –

_**The Will Reading**_

Seconds later, or so it seemed to Harry, he was woken by what sounded like an explosion as the door was thrown open. Sitting up, he heard the rasp of the curtains been pulled back: the bright sunlight seemed to be trying to force itself through his eyelids. Shielding his eyes with one hand, he fumbled around with the other, trying to find his glasses.

'Wuzzgoinon?'

'Harry, get out of bed! We have the apparition test in half an hour!' said a loud, worried voice. Harry jumped at this.

'What? Why didn't anyone wake me up?' Harry asked, jumping out of bed, almost colliding with Ron.

'Mum thought you needed your sleep, and we didn't notice the time.' Harry finally found his glasses and straightening up, said.

'All right, I'm up. I'll just go take a quick shower and we can go.'

'Ok, but make it quick.' Ron said, running out the room, 'We need to be there five minutes before the test to register.' Harry ran to the bathroom, took the fastest shower he'd taken in his life, and scrambled back to his room to get dressed, almost colliding with Ginny on the way, who was just coming out of her room bleary eyed.

'Watch it Harry! You almost knocked me over.' She said angrily.

'Sorry Ginny, but I'm kind of in a hurry.' He rushed on, yelling over his shoulder. 'Apparition test in twenty minutes.'

'Oh, good luck Harry! I'm sorry, I forgot.' She apologised.

'It's alright, I forgot too!' He replied as he slammed the door behind him. Ginny smirked.

A few minutes later, still pulling a T-shirt on, Harry sprinted down the stairs, almost tripping over Crookshanks on the last step. Mrs. Weasley turned around, smiling.

'Hurry up and eat up Harry. You can't take a test on an empty stomach.' She said jovially. 'Your breakfast is on the table.' She continued, pointing at a huge plate of food on the table. Harry ran over, and started shovelling food into his mouth. Hermione, who was reading a book, looked up disapprovingly, and was about to say something.

Before she could say anything though, Ron walked in, and seeing Harry, said, 'Harry, come on. No time to eat, you can eat when we come home. We have to go now!' Eating his last mouthful, Harry got up, and grabbed some Floo powder. Ron pointed his wand at the fireplace, and called out '_Incendio!_'

Walking up to the flames, he threw some powder into the fireplace, and marching into the emerald green flames that roared up higher than before, he yelled out 'Ministry of Magic!'

Harry hurriedly followed him, and a few minutes walked out of the fireplace in the Ministry's Atrium. Wiping the soot of his shoulders and out of his hair, he followed Ron who ran up to Eric. They deposited their wands, and ran to the elevator. Pushing their way in, they dropped down two floors to Level Six (the cool female voice rang out again. 'Level Six, Department of Magical Transportation, incorporating the Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office and Apparition Test Centre'). They sprinted out, and hurried over to the Test Centre, finding Neville there and a few other students, mostly Ravenclaws. They all looked very nervous, and Neville was pale; it looked like he was about to throw up.

Harry was about to greet Neville, and tell him that there was nothing to worry about, when their instructor, Wilkie Twycross walked out of the office. The frail looking wizard looked around, and pulled out a roll of parchment. 'Right,' he said, 'you're all here to take the apparition test, so let's not dally around. Come with me.'

He led them to a large room, which had padded walls, and told them to space themselves out, with at least five feet of space in front of them. The students all nervously jostled around, Harry and Ron staying as far back from Twycross as possible.

'Now then,' he waved his wand and old-fashioned wooden hoops instantly appeared on the floor in front of each student, 'the test comprises of two parts. There is a short distance apparition, and a long distance apparition. For the short distance apparition, I want you to apparate into the hoop in front of you. For the long distance apparition, I will choose a place that you will know, and I want you to apparate there. You will apparate there with me holding on to your arm, one at a time, that way, if you miss the spot, you will not be lost. While we are gone, I don't want any of you,' he pointed at everyone, 'to practise. We will not be gone more than thirty seconds, unless of course someone splinches themselves. If that happens, we will be gone a bit longer.'

Everyone gulped, desperately hoping that they would not splinch themselves, remembering Susan Bones, who had left her left leg behind in their first lesson.

'Now then, on my command, I want you all to apparate into the hoops in front. Now … one, two, THREE!'

Harry closed his eyes, and concentrating harder than he had ever done upon his destination, stepped forwards into that feeling of horrible compression.

He was unable to breathe for a millisecond, the pressing feeling so short lived that he barely felt it, and he opened his eyes. He was standing in the hoop, and all his limbs were still attached to him. He looked up, and saw that with the exception of Neville, who had landed half-in, half-out of his hoop, everyone was fine.

Twycross was walking around, inspecting everyone, checking for any missing body parts. Shaking his head at Neville, and telling him that he'd have to take a few more lessons before trying again, he paused at Ron, and checked his eyebrows. Ron looked very uncomfortable, but Twycross nodded and smiled, and Ron left out a breath that he hadn't realised he was holding.

He grinned sheepishly at Harry, who gave him a thumbs-up. Twycross moved on to Harry, and smiled warmly, nodding approvingly of his perfect apparition. Harry smiled back, a bit more confident that he could pass. Moving away, Twycross said,

'Right, apart from Mr. Longbottom, you all apparated very well, so we will now move onto the long distance apparition. When I read out your name, I want you to come forward, and I will tell you where I want you to apparate. Now then,' he said, looking at his roll of parchment, 'Terry Boot, come forward.'

Terry walked forward nervously, and listened as Twycross whispered in his ear, telling where to apparate to. Terry nodded, and gripped Twycross firmly. He gulped, and taking out last look around, he stepped forward, turning on the spot. With a loud _Crack_, they vanished, and everyone stared nervously at the space Terry had occupied a second beforehand.

They waited, hoping that Terry was alright. About twenty seconds later, they returned, Terry smiling nervously. 'Pass. A perfect apparition Mr. Boot.' Twycross announced happily, everyone let out a sigh of relief. 'Here is licence,' he continued, conjuring a certificate, 'have a nice day.'

Terry left the room in a hurry, grinning sheepishly at everyone as he passed them. Twycross called for Mandy Brocklehurst to come forward, and the whole process was repeated. She passed too, and two more students were called up, before Harry was called. There were only two others left in the room, Lisa Turpin, and Ron.

He smiled weakly at Ron, and approached Twycross, trying to look confident. Twycross looked up at his, and leaned into his ear and whispered, 'Right Mr. Potter, I'd like you to apparate us to a nice quiet spot, you don't want any unneeded attention now, do you?' Harry nodded uncertainly; he was suddenly uncomfortable of the idea of apparating to an isolated spot without his wand.

Twycross continued, 'How about apparating to inside the Shrieking Shack, I heard from my dear friend Professor McGonagall, that you know the place very intimately.' Harry grinned, thinking of McGonagall recounting the story to Twycross over a cup of tea.

He gripped Twycross' arm, and remembering the bedroom, with a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings, he took a step forward. A moment later, he opened his eyes to the room where he'd discovered that Pettigrew was his parents' traitor, not Sirius.

He remembered Sirius saying that Harry could live with him once his name was cleared, and thought, '_It's too late for us now Sirius, but at least you will no longer be remembered as a traitor._'

He was brought out of his reverie, when Twycross started prodding and poking him, checking that he hadn't lost any body parts on the way. Muttering, 'That's right, nothing missing there,' and so on. A few moments later, he took a step back and told Harry that there was nothing wrong with his apparating, and that with practise, he'd be able to reduce the sound that he made.

Harry smiled, and let Twycross grip his arm firmly, before who apparated them back to the Test Centre. Harry received his certificate, and told Ron that he'd wait for him outside. A few minutes later, Ron stepped out grinning, and proudly holding out his certificate.

'I passed! Isn't it great? Now we can go wherever we want.' Harry smiled at Ron's enthusiasm, and led them back up to the Atrium. They retrieved their wands, and apparated back to the Burrow.

They told everyone that they'd passed, and received congratulations and hugs from Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley, before being forced to wolf down three plates of bacon and eggs, accompanied by toast and kippers (well Ron didn't need to be forced, just told that there was food on the table). They ate slowly, recounting where they'd been asked to go, Ron had been asked to apparate in front of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, and he'd nearly apparated on top of a pretty young witch. Hermione and Ginny collapsed in a fit of giggles upon hearing this.

When he finished, Harry asked Hermione for the time; it was ten to eleven. Excusing himself, he told them he needed to return to the Ministry of Magic for a reading of Dumbledore's will, and that he would probably need to go to Gringotts afterwards.

Hermione and Ron offered to go with him, but he declined, saying that he needed to do this himself. Ginny was about to argue that he needed to stop shutting himself off, when he walked out the back door and apparated away. Everyone looked at each other nervously for a few minutes, before going their own way.

Harry walked up to Eric, who muttered that he shouldn't have bothered retrieving his wand if he was returning so quickly; but took his wand and issued Harry with a slip of parchment all the same. Harry asked him where he needed to go to hear a will. Eric muttered something about the Wizengamot, so Harry entered one of the lifts, and dropped down to Level Two, heading over to the Wizengamot Administration Services.

On the way, he met Shacklebolt and Mr. Weasley, who were both invited to hear Albus' will too. They walked in silence, and when they reached a desk behind a pretty witch stood, they asked for directions to Dumbledore's will reading. She led them to a conference room, which was already half-full and left them to find seats.

Harry saw Professor McGonagall, Moody, and some other people from the Order and school that he recognised. There were some wizards and witches that he didn't know, and Remus and Tonks sitting together. He walked over to them and sat down next to Remus. Remus greeted him, smiling weakly and quickly explained how a will hearing was carried out. As he finished, an old goblin walked in, and sitting at the head of the table, pulled out a few pieces of parchment.

'We are here to hear Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore's last will and testament.' He began, 'My name is Earguf, and I will be reading out his last wishes. He has also instructed that some letters be distributed today to certain persons; I will be carrying out this instruction too.'

He looked pointedly at Harry at this comment, and Harry wondered what Dumbledore had left him. Maybe some clues as to where the last Horcruxes were, or what they were, or better yet, how to destroy them. Harry had been wondering how he would destroy the Horcruxes, even if he managed to find them. He couldn't realistically find another basilisk to use its poison.

He was disturbed from his thoughts when Earguf started reading out Dumbledore's letter to everyone, telling them how he was sorry that he couldn't be with them to continue the fight against Lord Voldemort. Everyone shuddered apart from Harry, Remus and Earguf, who continued reading without a pause. He wished them all good luck in their fight against the Death Eaters, and hoped that the Order would not be dissolved, and that it would keep fighting Lord Voldemort's forces.

After a few more words, Earguf started reading out the allocations of Dumbledore's possessions. Everyone in the Order had received something (Mr. Weasley receiving his share, as well as Mrs. Weasley's, and Bill's and Charlie's, both of whom were too busy working to come), usually some money, or a valuable or rare possession. Harry had received Gryffindor's sword, which Dumbledore had written was his anyway, as he had pulled it out of the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore's Pensieve, and Fawkes. Dumbledore had also left some possessions to his brother Aberforth, and some friends, mostly members of the Wizengamot.

Finally, Earguf read out, 'these are all my worldly possessions. May all the recipients enjoy these donations and live a long and full life as I have. Signed, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Dated May 30th.'

People started to stand up and leave, when Earguf called out. 'Excuse me sirs and madams, there are still some letters that need to be delivered.' The people who had got up blushed slightly, and returned to their seats quickly.

'Professor Minerva McGonagall, you have a letter from the late Professor Dumbledore.' McGonagall leaned forward and collected her letter that Earguf had pushed down the table to her. 'Mr Alastor Moody, you have a letter, as do you Mr Remus Lupin.' They both leaned other and received their letters. There was one letter left in Earguf's hand. 'Mr Harry Potter,' He said, looking up at Harry, 'this letter if for you.' He finished, handing him his letter. 'Thank you ladies and gentlemen for coming today. This will reading is completed.'

People started to get up and leave. Harry was itching to open the letter, desperate to find out what Dumbledore had written to him, but he knew this was neither the time nor place for it. He needed privacy to read this letter. He opted to read it when he returned to his flat, not wanting to be disturbed by anyone; but then remembered that he needed to go to Gringotts.

He shrunk the Pensieve and Gryffindor's sword, put them in his pocket and send Fawkes to the Burrow. Saying his farewells to Remus, Tonks, members of the Order, and teachers from school, he returned to the Atrium, where he retrieved his wand from Eric. Eric warned him not to return for the rest of the day, or he'd hex him into oblivion.

Chuckling, Harry apparated to Diagon Alley.


	8. Ragnog

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER EIGHT –

_**Ragnog**_

Arriving in the backyard behind The Leaky Cauldron, Harry quickly counted the bricks above the trash cans, found the brick he was looking for, and tapped it three times with his wand. The brick that he tapped quivered then wiggled, and a small hole appeared in the middle of it. A second later, an archway materialised before Harry, and he strode through. He didn't wait to see the archway shrink back into a solid wall.

Keeping his head down, he marched quickly up to Gringotts, and walking up to the nearest available goblin, asked to see Ragnog. The goblin arched his eyebrow at such a strange request – very few wizards (or witches for that matter) were permitted to meet the manager; even the Minister was not always welcome.

Harry had been expecting this, having talked to Hermione about it the night before. She'd been very excited about the prospect of Harry's meeting, she too knew that it was most unusual for the manager of Gringotts to ask a wizard to come and meet him. Harry pulled out the letter that he'd received and handed it to the goblin, who quickly read it, and getting off his high stool, led him to a waiting room.

He'd barely sat down, when another goblin walked up to him, and asked him to come and meet Ragnog, who was now ready to see him. Harry, a bit nervous, followed the goblin down a short passageway, to a huge set of double doors. The goblin opened them with a flick of his hand, and stood aside to allow Harry entry, bowing as Harry passed. 'An honour to have met you Sir,' he said.

'The pleasure was all mine.' Harry replied, unsure of customs regarding courtesy towards goblins.

As he stepped through the doorway, he noticed a large desk sitting a few feet away. Behind it sat one of the most ancient looking goblins Harry had ever laid eyes on. He had wispy white hair adorning the sides of his otherwise bald skull, and the same wispy hair grew out of his ears and nostrils too.

'_This,_' Harry thought, 'had_ to be Ragnog._'

He walked up to the desk uncertainly, and upon reaching it, stretched out his hand. Ragnog stood up, and shook it; whispering in a tired voice, 'Mr. Potter, a pleasure to have finally met you. Please, sit down.' Harry sat in a beautiful leather chair and replied.

'No Sir, the pleasure is all mine. After all Sir, it is not every day that the manager of Gringotts personally hands a wizard the keys to their vaults.' Ragnog smiled weakly, and replied in fashion.

'Ah, but neither is it every day that a goblin gets the chance to hand over the keys to the heir of one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain.' Harry's jaw quite literally dropped at this, 'After all, they are usually handed over during a will reading, or by an older family member. As neither circumstance was appropriate in your position; the late Professor Dumbledore, as you're parents' confidant, asked me to keep your family vault keys until your seventeenth birthday, only letting you draw money out from a small trust fund until then.'

Harry's head was spinning, but he still managed to murmur, practically in shock, '- one of the wealthiest wizarding families in Britain -'. '_Dumbledore had certainly forgotten to mention that,_' he thought.

'Is there something wrong Mr. Potter?' Ragnog inquired, leaning forward in his seat.

'Oh no, Sir, it's just that this is the first I've heard of this.' Harry replied shakily.

'Really? That is most unusual, but perhaps Professor Dumbledore had been intending to tell you himself when you turned seventeen. It is most unfortunate for you, and the rest of the magical world that he did not live that long. Professor Dumbledore was a good wizard, and a fair minded soul. He never judged anyone by their species; I even heard that he paid his house elves, well, those that accepted the money anyway.' Harry nodded mutely, too lost in his memories to pay attention.

Ragnog seemed to notice Harry's state, and quickly changed the subject. 'But we are not here to discuss Professor Dumbledore's great deeds, which themselves would require a whole other meeting to discuss fully; we are here,' he pulled out an ornate box, a parchment envelope, and a roll of parchment, 'to discuss your family vaults.' Harry finally looked up, and noticed the box, and wondered what it contained.

'These,' Ragnog said, opening the box with a flourish of ancient and long forgotten grace, 'are your keys Mr. Potter.' He pulled out three golden keys and placed them on the desk. Harry gasped. They were nothing like the key to his trust vault. They were ornately decorated gold keys, with rubies encrusted in them.

'The house of Potter is an ancient and noble one, Mr. Potter. In this vault,' he pointed at one of the keys, 'you will most likely find money, mostly in Galleons, but some will most likely be in Pounds Sterling and maybe a few other currencies too. I say most likely Mr. Potter, because goblins do not as a rule enter a wizard's vault. However, when these vaults were last used, most of the time, money was withdrawn from this vault.' Harry nodded, remembering that the last people to withdraw money from the vault were probably his parents. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

'This second key,' Ragnog continued, not noticing Harry's movement, 'is where I believe your ancestors placed the valuables that they did not need immediately. In there, you will probably find clothes, trinkets, letters, paintings etc. That vault has not been opened in oh,' he closed his eyes in thought, 'maybe one hundred years, your great, great grandfather was the last person to access it I believe.'

By this time, Harry was far too far gone to even realise that the goblin probably remembered his great, great grandfather, that he was alive when the vault was last opened. All he could think of, was that he was finally about to get to find out about his family. All his life he had yearned to have a family, know of his heritage, and now, he was finally going to get a chance to find out about his father and his ancestors.

He couldn't even focus hard enough to ask Ragnog what the last vault contained, but the old goblin pre-empted him.

'The last vault, Mr. Potter, was you parents' vault. Well, it contains some items belonging to your grandparents too, but for the most part, everything in it was placed in there by your parents. In fact, if these records are accurate, the last time they opened that particular vault was only a few weeks after your birth.'

Harry sat bolt upright at these words, realising that fearing for their lives, and Harry's, they must have gone into hiding not long after this. Therefore, they must have put everything that was precious to them in the vault before hiding he reasoned. Looking up at Ragnog, who was observing him closely, he asked,

'Can I go and open that vault Mr. Ragnog?'

'Of course Mr. Potter, but before you do that, I need to finish giving you your possessions.' He looked down at the parchment again. Harry looked thoroughly confused at this.

'_What more could I possibly have?_' he thought, 'There can't possibly be more.' He voiced this last comment aloud. Ragnog looked up from the roll of parchment, looking bemused. Then he chuckled and smiled,

'Ah, but there is Mr. Potter, in fact, there is a lot more. There are tracts of land, estates, investments, and a letter,' he pointed to the envelope, 'left with me to hand to you today. Professor Dumbledore gave it to me, but I do not know who the author is.' Looking up at Harry, he continued, 'I will not bore you now with the list of things that you now own; it is quite clear that all you want to do is visit your parents vault, quite understandable of course given the circumstances.' He finished this last comment with an indulgent smile, for indeed, Harry was fiddling absentmindedly with his clothes, itching to go and discover his parents vault.

'All I need you to do now, Mr. Potter, is to sign this parchment, acknowledging your receipt of the keys, and binding your name to the estates. As soon as you sign it, you will know the locations of all your lands and homes; you can visit them whenever you like. However, if you intend to show them to people, your friends for example, you will need to write down the address and show it to them. You are familiar with the Fidelius Charm I presume?' He asked, looking up at Harry. Harry nodded,

'I know it quite well; I cast it two days ago.' Ragnog looked up again, surprised.

'Really? Well that is quite remarkable Mr. Potter; that is a very complex piece of magic to master.'

'Yes, well I practised it for a month before casting it, and it still exhausted me. My friend had to carry me into the flat after I gave her the address, I think I passed out.' He blushed slightly.

'There is nothing to be ashamed of Mr. Potter, not many full grown wizards can perform the charm. Though I take it that you have found accommodation for the present then?' Harry nodded, 'Well, unless you are dissatisfied with that accommodation, I advise that you do not visit your ancestral homes yet, as giving away their locations is quite unnecessary for the time being. The present political atmosphere makes it safer for you to remain hidden; the reopening of your ancestral homes would attract a lot of unneeded attention.' He looked pointedly at Harry, who nodded soberly.

'Right then,' Ragnog said, pushing a quill and the roll of parchment towards Harry, 'if you sign at the bottom; there,' he said, pushing the end of the roll forwards, 'you can go visit your parents' vault.'

Harry hurriedly signed and pushing the parchment back towards Ragnog, stood up. Ragnog rolled the parchment back up, and stood up too, reaching forwards to shake Harry's hand.

'It has truly been a pleasure Mr. Potter. Your family has always been kind to magical creatures, and I hear that you have followed in their footsteps. Professor Dumbledore always spoke very highly of you, and your deeds. Not many wizards would befriend a house elf, and free them from an oppressive master.' Harry's cheeks flushed pink at the compliment, 'Now, I will not detain you any longer, so I wish you good luck in the future, and a long life.'

He shook Harry's hand firmly, and smiled warmly at Harry, 'Your ancestors would be very proud of the wizard that you have become.' Harry mumbled his thanks, flushing even redder if it was possible. 'Now, have a good day, and I hope you find what you are looking for in your parents' vault.' Harry took this to be the end of the meeting, and thanked Ragnog again. He picked up the three vault keys and the envelope before making his way to the doors. They opened in their own accord when he approached them, and Harry turned back, to see Ragnog, hand outstretched, smiling.

Harry made his way to the lobby, and approached a goblin sitting on a high stool.

'Hi, I'd like to access James and Lily Potter's vault please.' He said, extracting the key to his parents' vault. The goblin looked confused for a second, then smiled and said,

'I presume, what you meant to say was that you wanted to access one of your vaults, the one associated with this key.' Harry looked confused, so the goblin pressed on, 'There are no vaults corresponding to that name Sir, they all belong to Mr. Potter now, who I presume, is you Sir.' Harry nodded absently; having three vaults was going to be confusing if he would have to go through this every time.

'Right Mr. Potter, I'll have someone take you down to the vault. Ringot!' A mean looking goblin walked over. 'Ringot, take Mr. Potter to vault five hundred and three.' Ringot nodded and started walking away. 'Have a good day Sir.' Harry, who had started following Ringot, turned and smiled.

'You too.' He turned back and hurried to catch up with Ringot, who was marching towards a small line of carts.


	9. The Vault

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER NINE –

_**The Vault**_

Harry climbed into the cart behind Ringot, and they were off. Harry always loved this experience, as it reminded him of sensations he associated with flying his broom. After several minutes of twisting and turning down a maze of dark passageways lined with vaults, they came to a stop before a huge door in the passage wall.

It was much larger than Harry's trust fund vault, and he was momentarily stunned by the sight of it. Ringot eventually coughed roughly to catch Harry's attention, who, blushing furiously, handed him the key to the vault. Ringot unlocked to the door, and returned the key to Harry, who pocketed it. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped.

The vault was huge, and was filled with enough objects to decorate a small mansion, which, Harry thought, was probably exactly what it had done before being put in here. After his meeting with Ragnog, he had been almost positive that his parents had not always lived in Godric's Hollow; now he was certain.

There were several trunks lining one wall of the vault, and a variety of different items of furniture arranged haphazardly around the rest of the vault. There were tables, chairs, four-poster beds, ornate mirrors, sofas, footrests, cupboards, wardrobes, and a whole host of other things that Harry didn't' even recognise. Rolled up near the door was a large pile of tapestries, rugs and carpets, the quantity of which Harry had never seen before. As he squinted, he realised that leaning against the back wall were scores of paintings, and Harry gasped again, for they all appeared to be portraits of his ancestors.

He walked forward uncertainly, uncomfortable with disturbing the tranquillity of the vault, and climbed in. Recovering from his initial shock, he walked over to the trunks and started opening them one at a time. In the first few, he found dress robes and other wizarding wear, presumably they had belonged to his parents'. Harry realised that they'd intended to live as Muggles until Voldemort stopped searching for them, deciding to remain inconspicuous until the danger had abated. The next couple of trunks he opened contained photo albums, mostly taken while his parents' were at school, but there were also albums from their wedding, one album full of photos of the members of the original Order, and one completely devoted to Harry from when he was but a few days old.

By the time Harry had sifted through all the albums, casting quick glances at individual photos, tears were running down his face, and he hastily wiped them away, angry at himself.

'_They're dead,_' he told himself, '_nothing you can do will bring them back. Now get a grip and keep looking._' He closed the lid on what he hoped was the last trunk of photo albums and proceeded to the next one.

In it he found, rather to his surprise, an array of Medieval Muggle weapons. There were daggers, longswords, broadswords, pikes, maces, axes, lances and halberds. Jumbled up among the weapons was also full-body chainmail, shields and several items of plate armour. Thinking of the suits of armour at Hogwarts, he guessed these were purely decorative, but the weapons did look very sharp …

Deciding to leave a closer examination of them for another visit, and not entirely comfortable with the thought that one of his ancestors might have fought with these weapons; he closed the trunk. He fancied that he saw blood on one of the swords and quickly proceeded to the next one. Upon opening it, he gasped suddenly. Lying at the bottom of an otherwise empty trunk lay a small pile of parchment envelopes. He reached in and delicately picked them up, and saw that they were addressed to a number of people.

Flipping through them, he saw letters to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Sirius, Remus, Peter (Harry shredded that one up angrily), Harry's aunt, the Longbottoms, and finally, Harry. Harry was quite shocked when he saw a letter addressed to him; his parents really had tried to prepare for every possibility, even their deaths and Harry's survival. When Ragnog had told him about his parents' vault, he hadn't known what to expect, he just knew that he had to see it.

Shaking his head to clear his head, he got up, upset at the thought that so few of the letters his parents had written could be delivered. He closed the trunk and opened one of the last ones. In it he found several sets of dragon hide armour, wand holsters for various parts of the body, and a few pairs of dragon hide boots and gloves. Taking out and shrinking some of the wand holsters for wrists and thighs, he closed the trunk. He put the holsters in his pockets, and opened the last trunk, and gaped in silent wonder. It was full of beautiful jewellery.

Harry was entranced by the precious stones. He had never seen anything quite as magnificent; there were diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds of all shapes and sizes. Even in the dim light of the vault, they captured light and reflected it in hypnotic patterns. Harry was momentarily captivated by the beautiful array of specious stones, but quickly regained his senses.

Closing the lid, he got to his feet, and walked back to the door to the vault, where Ringot was still waiting. Climbing back into the cart, Harry asked if he could go to his trust vault. Ringot nodded, and climbed into the cart in front of him. As soon as he'd sat down, the cart jumped back into motion on its own volition.

A few minutes later, the cart stopped before the small door, and Harry gave Ringot the tiny golden key. Ringot unlocked it, and Harry, conjuring a small moneybag clambered in. Having bought the flat, there was very little left of his trust fund, and when Harry looked around, all he could see was a small pile of Galleons, and a couple of Sickles and Knuts in the far corners. He collected all the coins and when he climbed back out, asked.

'Ringot, could you arrange for this vault to be removed from my name please?' Ringot looked shocked that Harry had asked him to carry out such a task, most wizards just ignored him and just ordered him to take them to their vault, 'I don't think I need to worry about an empty vault, three full ones are quite enough.' Ringot nodded, he was beginning to understand why magical creatures help Harry Potter in such high regard.

They returned to the lobby, and thanking Ringot for his help, Harry walked out into the bright sunlight; it was barely one o'clock. Harry decided to go visit the twins and see how the shop was faring, but they were closed for lunch; so Harry decided to follow suit and get his own lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. His stomach was starting to grumble loudly, and he was attracting odd glances, even with his head down.

He hurried into the Leaky Cauldron, and ordered a ham sandwich and butterbeer. Sitting down in one of the darker corners of the room, he contemplated his day so far.

'_Well, I can't say it hasn't been interesting._' He thought ruefully. How many seventeen year old wizards could claim to have received a phoenix, Godric Gryffindor's sword, and a Pensieve; _and_ find out they were one of the richest wizards in the country, all in one morning? Not to mention, have a meeting with Ragnog. At that moment, Tom shuffled over with Harry's lunch, and Harry lost his train of thought as his stomach growled in anticipation.

Harry tried to pay for it, but Tom refused, saying that anyone that Dumbledore held in as much regard as he held Harry, deserved a free lunch every so often. Harry blushed crimson at the compliment, feeling that it wouldn't be the last time he heard it. He wolfed down his lunch, and thanking Tom profusely, hurried back to Diagon Alley. He really didn't want to spend more time than was necessary in public.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was still closed, so Harry wandered about a bit, before remembering that he needed a perch for Fawkes, as he hadn't received the old one at the will reading. He walked over to Eeylops Owl Emporium, and a few minutes later, came out with a shrunken perch stuffed in his pocket, the top of it sticking out.

He returned to the joke shop and found that it had finally opened. He walked in, and was instantly greeted by one of the twins, but he wasn't sure which one.

'Hey Harry, how are you? Oy, George, get over here!' Fred said. 'Have you already finished the stock we sent you? Blimey that was quick!' He said winking. George popped his head out from behind the counter, and seeing Harry grinned.

'Ah, our secret benefactor, what can we do for you today Sir?' He grinned, bending in a mock bow. Harry smiled back, and replied,

'Oh nothing guys, I was just in Gringotts and decided to come over and see how you were doing.'

'We're fine Harry, nothing new since last night.' Fred winked, 'How about you though, I hear you've been very busy.'

'I'm fine Fred, Dumbledore's will reading was ok, and I just had a meeting with Ragnog,' Fred's eyes almost popped out at this. Harry continued nonchalantly, pretending not to see Fred's look of shock, 'he gave me my family's vault keys. I was really surprised; I didn't know I had anything except the trust fund.'

'Harry?' Fred interrupted.

'Yes Fred?' Harry replied innocently, trying not to laugh when he looked at Fred's face of disbelief.

'Do you know how rare it is to see Ragnog? I mean, even Scrimgeour has a difficult time arranging a meeting with him.' Fred spurted out, bewildered.

'Really Fred? Wow, I didn't know that.' Harry put on the best look of bemusement. 'Is it really that rare? He didn't make such a huge fuss about it or anything.' Fred, knowing full well that Harry understood the privilege that he'd been granted, and was playing along with him, just groaned in frustration.

George came out from behind a shelf and asked Fred what was wrong.

'What's wrong, bro, is that Harry doesn't seem to realise just how privileged he is to have met Ragnog.' Now George's eyes popped out.

'_The_ Ragnog? As in Ragnog; manager of Gringotts Ragnog?' George asked in disbelief. Fred nodded in frustration. Harry couldn't hold it in any more; succumbing to a laughing fit, he leaned against a shelf, and laughed so hard, he cried.

Fred and George looked exasperatedly at him for a few seconds, but soon they were smiling broadly, Harry's laughter was contagious, and after a few minutes of uncontrollable laughing, they all sobered up.

'By the way Harry,' George asked, 'did Ron and you pass your apparition test? Did Ron tell you what happened to him? He almost apparated on top of a young witch! Very pretty too.' He mused.

'Ye, he told me about that,' Harry replied, grinning, 'and yes, we both passed. Neville didn't though; he landed half-in half-out of his hoop.' He added sadly. He thought about how much Neville had improved in the DA when he'd really concentrated, '_Maybe he just needs a bit of motivation._' He thought.

'Ah, that's a pity, but at least you two passed; well done!' Fred exclaimed, thumping Harry on the back.

'Ye, well done Harry, we passed first time too. Ron didn't though,' he turned to his twin, 'you know what that means?' He asked; an evil glint in his eyes.

'Aw, come on guys, give Ron a break. Last time he failed because of half an eyebrow.' George seemed to ponder this for a few seconds, and smirked again.

'Alright, because he only failed by _half_ an eyebrow, we'll only tease him for _half_ the time we'd usually do it for. Does that sound fair Fred?'

'It most certainly does George.' Fred replied happily. Harry looked defeated. 'Harry, you better warn Ickle Ronnikins that we'll be coming over tonight.' He finished, winking at Harry. Harry grumpily replied.

'Fine, but I'm warning you, he's of age now, and a pretty good dueller. I wouldn't provoke him if I were you.' This didn't deter the twins in the slightest, whose grins just grew larger. 'Anyway, I better get going, or your mum will hex me for being away for too long.' The twins smiled knowingly,

'You're probably right, she's done it to us often enough. Though admittedly, it wasn't for going out for a long time.' George added, winking. 'Now, off you go.' They said together, slapping Harry on the back. He walked to the door, waving over his shoulder.

'Bye guys, see you tonight.'

'See you tonight Harry.' George said.

'Don't forget to send our regards to Ron!' Fred added cheekily. Harry had to suppress a laugh.

'I will, just don't go too hard on him, okay? And when he's hexed both of you, don't say I didn't warn you!' Harry warned.

'We wouldn't dream of it Harry.' George replied jokingly. Harry couldn't hold it in any more.

'Ha! Ye right! Anyway, see you tonight.' He added, as he opened the door and left.

He hurried down the street, careful to keep his head down again. When he reached the Leaky Cauldron, he focussed on the Burrow, and apparated away.


	10. Emotions Run High

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TEN –

_**Emotions Run High**_

With a soft _pop_, Harry arrived at the front door to the Burrow, and walked in to see Mrs. Weasley fussing over Fleur's dress, which her parents had just sent over from France; she looked anxious though. Mrs. Weasley looked up, and rushed over to Harry before he could take another step.

'Harry, thank goodness, you're back. I was beginning to worry about you. Are you alright?' Harry was surprised by this outburst; after all, he hadn't even been gone three hours.

'I'm fine Mrs. Weasley, honestly, why wouldn't I be?' He asked, slightly perplexed.

'Oh,' she replied, sounding surprised, 'nothing. It's just that you didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood when you left. We were all a bit worried about you.' Harry grimaced at this, '_so they've been talking about me behind my back again_' he thought angrily. He pushed her away, and replied coldly.

'Really, Mrs. Weasley?' She looked at him in confusion, shocked by his sudden change in tone and posture.

'And what mood would you be in, if you had to attend the will reading of your last parent figure; followed by receiving the keys to the vaults belonging to your murdered parents, who you never got to know?' He yelled out the last words furiously. Mrs. Weasley took a step back in horror, realising how badly her caring words had been interpreted.

He was shocked by his own behaviour, but was unable to control himself. Waves of fury coursed through him, and he didn't notice when Ron, Hermione and Ginny walked in to see what all the noise was about.

'Because of that monster, I've lost everyone that was close to me; my parents, my godfather, Dumbledore, even my _bloody_ aunt and uncle! I don't have anyone left.' He faltered, and collapsed to the floor, sobbing. 'Nobody, nobody.' He kept moaning, pain wracking his body.

Everyone in the room was shocked into silence, they had never seen Harry open up like this, leaving himself so exposed, and it was a few seconds before anyone could react. Harry felt a soft touch on his shoulder and looked up, teary eyed, to see Ginny, smiling gently down at him.

'Harry, we're here for you, we can be close to you.' She whispered, pulling him into a hug. 'All you have to do is let us be there for you.' He tried to push her away gently.

'I don't want anyone else to get hurt over me Gin; everyone I've ever care for has died.' He replied, his voice broken.

'No, don't say that Harry, you know it's not true.' She countered fiercely.

'Ron and Hermione are still here aren't they? Mum's still here, I'm' she added hesitantly, 'still here.' Harry looked up at her, but was unable to hold her gaze.

'Yes you are, but for how long?' He asked, looking down again, tears welling up again.

'Harry James Potter! How dare you think so little of us!' Hermione yelled shrilly, making everyone jump. She advanced on Harry, who looked up at her, confused by her sudden outbreak. 'Don't you think we can take care of ourselves? You don't think that we can hold our own again a Death Eater?' She shouted, angry at him for having so little faith in them. Harry jumped up violently, his eyes suddenly blazing. He almost bowled Ginny over, but he was too angry to notice.

'No, I don't Hermione! I don't think you could take care of yourselves. Not when there are two Death Eaters trying to kill you, sending Killing Curses at you. Not when Voldemort comes to kill you either, because, to be honest, no one can. The only person who Voldemort ever feared is dead and no one can stand up to him anymore. If he wants you dead, you're as good as gone now, because no one is foolish enough to pick a fight with Voldemort.' Hermione looked away to hide her tears, suddenly realising what Harry was trying to say, but Harry wasn't finished. 'So the nearer you are to me, the closer you are to death; I'm a living curse.' He added unhappily.

There was a deathly silence, before Harry turned away from them.

'I'm going,' he said, 'before anyone else gets killed because of me.' He made to turn towards the door, but a small hand gripped his forearm.

'Harry,' Ginny pleaded, 'please, we want to be there for you. You don't honestly think that distancing yourself from us will make us safer do you? Harry, Hermione is Muggle-born, all the Weasley's are blood traitors. We're all at risk of dying whether you are with us or not.' Mrs. Weasley shivered at this harsh statement. 'But if you're with us, we have an extra wand to protect us. You're a great wizard Harry,' he was about to contradict her, but she placed a finger on his lips, 'you are. You have been challenged every year since you started Hogwarts with harder and harder tests of character, and you've come out every time better and stronger for it. I'm not saying you should have been tested so cruelly, but we're so proud of you, all the same. There's only so much someone can take though, and I think you've reached your limit Harry. You need us, as much as we need you; and we're ready. We want to help you, just,' she faltered, 'just don't push us away.'

She looked longingly at Harry, willing him to understand. He looked back at her for a few minutes, wishing that they would understand the danger that they were placing themselves in. Everyone else held their breath, hoping that he would change his mind and stay with them.

Eventually, he nodded, and pulled Ginny into a fierce hug, not wanting to ever let go. Ron and Hermione stepped forward uncertainly, and seeing his brow smoothen, but his eyes still full of sorrow, rushed to pull him into an embrace too. Mrs. Weasley let out a wail, and ran over, pulling everyone to her bosom.

They stood there for a few minutes, content to just share eachother's company and it wasn't until Ginny started gasping for air, that they broke away. Mrs. Weasley rushed off to finish her inspection of Fleur's gown, taking it into the kitchen with her, and Hermione and Ron walked back outside, leaving Ginny and Harry to sit down on the sofa. There was a long silence, then Ginny looked at Harry, unsure what to say.

'So,' Ginny started hesitantly, 'what did Dumbledore leave you?'

'Um, well, he left me his Pensieve and Godric Gryffindor's sword. He also gave Fawkes to me -' Ginny looked up in surprise.

'What, do you mean his phoenix?' Harry chuckled gently at her disbelief.

'Ye, I was quite surprised too, he wrote me a letter too.' He frowned, remembering that he also had all the letters from his parents, and the one left with Ragnog.

He pulled them all out, and Ginny stared wide eyed at them all.

'Harry, that's not a letter, that's about ten!' She exclaimed, and then studied them a bit closer. A minute later, she looked up confused, 'Harry, they're not all to you, and they're not even all in the same handwriting. Who wrote those?' She asked; pointing at the letters addressed to the others.' Harry gulped, and replied shakily.

'They're from my parents; I found them in their vault. Ragnog gave me the keys this morning.' Ginny looked into his eyes sadly,

'Oh Harry, I'm so sorry. Why wouldn't you let us come with you?'

'I didn't want to see me cry, and I knew I would. I didn't want to upset all of you.' He looked down ashamed. 'I guess it's too late now though, isn't it?' He added, trying to make a light-hearted joke. Ginny looked sorrowfully at him.

'Harry, you can cry in front of us, we've all cried before. It doesn't make you weak if you show your emotions.' Harry's face immediately twisted into a scowl.

'That's not what Snape said.' He spat. "Fools who wear their hearts proudly on their sleeves … weak people in other words -" Harry mimicked cruelly, "they stand no chance against his powers!" Ginny looked shocked, horrified that anyone would say such a terrible thing.

'Do you really want to turn out like Snape Harry? Why would you believe what that, that traitor said?' She stammered. Harry looked lost, his eyes glazed over in sorrow.

'But he was right you know? If I hadn't been so obvious about my feelings for Sirius, Voldemort wouldn't have used him to lure me to the Department of Mysteries. Sirius might still be alive, if I'd listened to Snape.' He finished.

He looked down glumly, thinking about the irony of it. He'd got over Sirius' death, but he couldn't help thinking what may have transpired if he'd managed to close off his mind to Voldemort's intrusions. Snape, who loathed Sirius, had given Harry the advice which might have saved Sirius' life, '_if only I had listened._' He thought wretchedly.

His thoughts were interrupted by Ginny, who was asking him something.

'Sorry Gin, I didn't hear you, what did you say?' He asked. Ginny looked exasperated for a second, and then asked him again.

'Where did you go after leaving your uncle's home? None of us knew where you'd gone, and mum was worried sick, especially after reading the Prophet yesterday morning.' Harry grinned mischievously.

'Ah,' he said smugly, 'one of my true acts of genius. I bought a flat while at my uncle's, and as soon as I turned seventeen, met up with Hermione. She apparated us there, and I cast the Fidelius Charm on it.' Ginny looked round eyed at him.

'Wow! That's incredible Harry, but how did you do it? It's a really complicated charm; I remember Remus tried to explain it to us when we were in Headquarters.' Harry grinned, and replied.

'For once, I took a leaf out of Hermione's book. I found the relevant texts I needed that explained how to cast it, and had them delivered by owl post. I then spent about a month practising the motions and spells without my wand until I had learned it perfectly.' Ginny was still looking at him, goggle-eyed.

'And you bought a flat, just like that? So you could hide out for the summer?'

'Oh no Gin, it's a safe house that I can always rely on if I'm in danger. Actually, I spent the rest of my trust fund on it, so I don't intend to sell it for quite a while.' Ginny looked quizzically at him.

'But how were you intending to pay to go to Hogwarts if you spent all your -' she stopped suddenly, her eyes widening in fear. Realising the implications of what he had said, she asked him hesitantly. 'You're not returning to Hogwarts are you? You're going after Voldemort, just like you said you would after the funeral.' Harry nodded slowly, expecting Ginny to explode, but it never came. Instead he heard a quiet, determined voice.

'Well, in that case, I'm coming with you.' Harry was momentarily stunned into silence, he hadn't been expecting this. Finding his voice, he said.

'Gin, you can't, you're underage, and it's too dangerous.' Ginny's stood up, face red.

'Do you think the Death Eater's will care that I'm underage?' She demanded, glaring down at him. Not waiting for an answer, she raged on. 'They'll kill me either way if they find me. I'm more than ready Harry; you can't stop me from coming.' Harry stood up too, stretching to his full height, and replied angrily.

'Yes I can stop you Ginny, and I will. Even if hypothetically speaking your mum lost her mind for a few minutes, and said you could come – which she won't; I wouldn't take you. You're not ready Gin, you haven't learned non-verbal spells yet, heck, I can't cast them reliably yet, and you can't apparate. What happens if we get into a tight situation, and I apparate away but can't get to you? You think I'd be able to leave you behind?' He asked, a haunted look in his eyes, 'I'd rather die than let that happen.' He added, looking down at his feet.

Ginny looked at him for a few seconds, and then whispered, 'Teach me.' Harry looked up, confused.

'How can I teach you Gin? You can't practise, you could get arrested.' Ginny hesitated for a more seconds; then bowed her head.

'You're right, I'm being stupid. I'd only be putting both of our lives in danger. Can you promise me something though? Stay safe, for me.' She looked pleadingly into his eyes. He nodded sadly, knowing that he'd have to go back on his word soon, '_Horcrux hunting will never be safe_' he thought ruefully. Ginny leaned forward and hugged him fiercely, as if she wasn't going to see him again.

Hermione and Ron chose this moment to come back in, and seeing them in an intimate embrace, were about to leave, when Harry saw them. Pulling himself from Ginny's hug, he looked at Hermione.

'Hermione, I think I'm going to go back to the flat,' Ron looked quizzically at Harry, who didn't notice. 'I think I need some time alone.' Hermione nodded, sensing that Harry had a lot to think about and wouldn't want to be disturbed. 'You don't have to come with me, but when you next come over, why don't you bring Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley? I think they should see it.' Hermione nodded, and Harry turned to pick up the letters of the sofa.

Ron was about to ask Harry what he was talking about, when Hermione whispered in his ear that she'd explain later. Harry turned back round, and hugged Ginny gently, before making his way to the door.

'By the way, Ron, the twins are coming over for dinner. They intend to tease you mercilessly for only passing second time.' Ron grumbled and muttered something about them not knowing what will hit them.

Harry laughed, and told him that he'd warned them, but that it had fallen on deaf ears. Ginny smirked at this and commented that it was a bad habit of theirs. Readily agreeing, Harry started towards the door, before remembering to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley. Calling over his shoulder, he said.

'Bye Mrs. Weasley. Thanks for having me over again.' She bustled out of the kitchen, and rushed over to hug him, asking worriedly where he was going. Telling her that Hermione would explain it, he was really too emotionally worn out to think about that night again, he walked out, and focusing on the alley behind the block of flats, vanished.

With a quiet _pop_, he reappeared in the alleyway, and made his way back up to his flat. Taking his keys and wand out, he unlocked the door, and checking up and down the corridor for Muggles, surreptitiously whispered '_Alohamora_' before opening the door and walking in. He collapsed on the sofa and closed his eyes, rubbing his hand over them, exhausted.

Opening them again and checking his watch, he couldn't believe that it was barely four o'clock. '_This has got to have been the longest day of my life.'_ He thought, and remembered that he still had the perch for Fawkes in his pocket. He pulled it out and muttered '_Engorgio_', before placing it next to Hedwig's cage. She hadn't returned yet, but he opened the window hopefully all the same.

He wasn't sure how to call Fawkes, so he just tried calling him, on the off chance that Fawkes may know when to come. Nothing happened for a few seconds, so Harry started thinking of other ways he could call him. He had barely started thinking of possibilities though, when there was a flash of flame, and Fawkes appeared, and landing on his new perch, started singing.

Panicking slightly, Harry reached for his wand again and pointing at the door, muttered '_Muffliato_'. He repeated this for the windows and walls, before walking over to stroke Fawkes.

'Lo, Fawkes,' Fawkes, sang softly, 'I guess you miss him too eh? Well, we'll make it.' He said, trying to reassure himself as much as the phoenix. Sitting back down on the sofa, he pulled out the letters, and laying them on the spot next to him, rummaged through them. Finding the one he was looking for, he broke the seal, and started reading.

_Dear Harry, -_


	11. Letters from the Past

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER ELEVEN –

_**Letters from the Past**_

He had to pause and wipe the oncoming tears from his eyes, which were threatening to build up and overflow. Looking down at the parchment, he started again.

_Dear Harry,_

_This is the hardest letter that I've ever had to write. If you are reading this, it means that your father and I are dead. It also means that you, by some miracle, survived. As I'm writing this, we are going into hiding. I don't know if you know why, but if you are reading this, you are already an adult, so I'll tell you just in case. _

_A prophecy, a terrible prophecy, was made just a few months before you were born. I won't go into the specifics of the circumstances, but Albus Dumbledore (I expect you know of him) heard a Seer foretell that a boy would be born at the end of July who would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort (I know that you will have heard of him). She said that he would mark the boy as his equal and that he would have power that Lord Voldemort doesn't know. The last thing she predicted was that one had to kill the other, for neither could live while the other survived. _

_Harry, the problem is, is that this prophesy applies to two people; you, and Frank and Alice Longbottom's son, Neville. Albus told me that a Death Eater overheard part of it, but refused to tell me who or under what circumstances. He only said that it was imperative that we hide you, because Lord Voldemort knew part of the prophesy and would try and kill both of you. No one knows which of you was designated by the prophesy, so Albus thinks that it would be safer if both families went into hiding; we're both going tomorrow._

_Harry my darling, if you're reading this, it means that you must be the one meant by the prophesy. We are so very sorry that we couldn't be there for you, to protect you and see you grow up. We will miss you terribly, my darling, but you cannot look back._

_A terrible weight has been placed on your young shoulders, and your father and I were torn apart when we heard of it, but you cannot escape it. You must defeat Lord Voldemort, and I am sure that you will, because you have something that he doesn't have. Everything else can be learned, but you have an inherent power which will let you triumph, not something that you can read in a book. _

_We have every confidence that you will succeed, and that when you do, you will be able to live a full and happy life, with nothing to worry about. We want you to be happy, however you choose to live, just remember that we will love you whatever you choose to do. We're so very proud of you._

_I hope that you know that you were a beautiful baby; you're sitting right next to me as I write this, and you're not making a single noise. You've already started doing some accidental magic, I've never heard of anyone doing it so young. Just the other day, you were watching your toy broom fly in front of you and tried to catch it. It flew out of reach, so you got angry, and suddenly it flew straight into your hand. I think we can expect great things of you Harry, if you're able to summon a toy when you're only one._

_Sirius just says you're practising summoning it for when you start falling off it like your dad. Don't believe him though, you're father is a great flier, and I think you'll take after him. I'm sure you've heard a lot from people about Sirius, and Remus and Peter, you might even know them. They are your father's best friends, and were quite a lot of trouble at school, and haven't really grown up yet, apart from maybe Remus, but I'm trying to train your father._

_There's so much I want to say to you Harry, as I fear that I will never get to see you grow up into a handsome man. I fear that I won't get a chance to see the woman you bring home, or the grandchildren you will give me, but I don't have the luxury of time. We need to prepare to go into hiding, so all I will say is that I hope you never have to read this._

_If you do though, don't mourn us, we probably died fighting for your life, and we wouldn't have wanted to go any other way, if it gave you a chance to live your life. We love you with all our hearts my darling, there is nothing you could ever do which could anger us, just remember that. We hope this letter never reaches you,_

_Love,_

_Mum and Dad_

By the time Harry had finished reading this, his face was red, tears were running down his face, unchecked. He put the letter down delicately, and rolled up into a foetus position, sobbing. He stayed like this for several hours, and didn't bother making himself dinner.

Hedwig flew back in around sunset, and seeing Harry's state, tried to pull him out of this stupor. She hooted at him, beat her wings in his face and even nipped his fingers, but was unable to attract his attention. Hooting angry, she flew out into the night sky, but Harry didn't notice. He stayed like this through the night, and didn't sleep. A few hours after sunrise; there was a loud knock on his door.

He didn't notice it and kept on keening for his parents. There was a loud huff from outside, and suddenly Hermione appeared with a quiet _pop_. She was about to say something reproachful, but seeing Harry's state, she rushed over to him, fear in her eyes, her anger forgotten.

'Harry, what's wrong?' She cried. 'What happened?' But Harry didn't reply, his eyes were glazed over, and he didn't react to her sudden appearance. She looked at the pile of envelopes next to him, and seeing the opened letter, picked it up. Scanning through it quickly, her mouth opened in horror.

'Harry, this is from your parents. They wrote you a letter before …' she faltered, 'before they … died. Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, that's just awful.' She sat down next to him, and pulled him into a fierce hug, but he barely noticed and didn't move to help her move him. She crooned softly in his ear for a bit, then noticing his rumpled clothes, looked at him in shock.

'Harry, have you been here all night?' He didn't respond, but she'd already got up, and pulled him to his feet. Stumbling, he fell to the floor.

'Harry, come on, I'm taking you to the Burrow. I can't help you alone, you need Mrs. Weasley. Hold on, I'll get some clothes for you and then we'll go.' Rushing to his bedroom, she pulled out some changes of clothing, packed then in a bag, and ran back to find Harry, curled up on the floor. Pulling him up, and as an afterthought grabbing the envelopes still on the sofa, she apparated them to the Burrow.

Landing in the living room, she lay Harry down delicately on a sofa and called for Mrs. Weasley, who came running in from the kitchen two seconds later.

'Hermione, what happened, is Harry alright?' Seeing him on the sofa, she cried out in anguish, and ran to his side. 'What happened to him Hermione; was he attacked?' Hermione shook her head, and whispered that he needed a Sleeping Draught. Nodding grimly, Mrs. Weasley rushed to the kitchen, and returned a few seconds later with a corked bottle of Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Hermione gently held Harry's mouth open, and Mrs. Weasley poured the contents into his mouth. He gulped to avoid chocking, and closing his eyes, collapsed in Hermione's arms, sound asleep.

When he awoke, he was lying in a bed. He opened his eyes slowly and squinted, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to see clearly. He sat up, and looked around, making out three blurred shapes. Realising that someone had removed his glasses, he reached over to the side of the bed. He rummaged around few a few seconds before finding them, put them back on. He was back in the twins' room at the Burrow; it was dark outside.

Hermione, Ginny and Ron were sitting at the foot of the bed, sound asleep. Not wanting to wake them, he tried to wiggle out from under the sheet quietly, but the mattress squeaked loudly as soon as he shifted his body weight. Ron jerked up instantly, hand reaching for his wand.

'Whoa Ron!' Harry exclaimed, 'It's me, Harry, put the wand away.' Ron looked at Harry for a couple of seconds, and then put his wand back in his back pocket. Harry smirked, 'You know Moody would have a fit if he saw you put your wand there?'

'Oh sod off Harry; I'm not going to blow my butt off!' Harry sniggered quietly, not wanting to wake the girls. 'So,' Ron started uncomfortably, shifting his weight a bit, 'are you okay? Hermione said something about you getting a letter from your parents, put wouldn't say anything else about it all day. You want to talk about it?'

'Ron, I know you're my best mate, but I'm fine really. Anyway,' He grinned, 'you're not exactly the most sensitive person; I think a bullfrog would have more of a clue than you!' Ron blushed to the tip of his roots.

'I know I don't understand all that mushy stuff like Hermione does Harry, but I figure I know you better than anyone. And I know you don't like to open up or anything, but I can help you, you know. I can listen and stuff -' He finished uncomfortably. Harry sat up, and reached out to grip Ron's shoulder, and looking him straight in the eye, said.

'Ron, I'm fine; really I am. I've dealt with a lot worse over the years; I guess I was just a bit tired, and emotionally vulnerable from hearing his will, and then getting the keys to their vaults. It just caught up with me all of a sudden, honestly, I'm fine now. Being here with all of you would be reason enough.' Harry smiled warmly, trying to appease Ron, who'd evidently been thinking of little else since Hermione had brought him here; he looked very agitated.

Ron smiled weakly, and they chatted for a bit, until Harry's stomach rumbled loudly, and they both laughed, forgetting that the girls were asleep. Hermione and Ginny both woke up instantly, and after being told what had woken them up, Hermione grumbled about being woken up by Harry's appetite.

They all laughed at this, and then Ginny mentioned that at least it wasn't Ron's – again. Ron's ears went red, but the others sniggered, until Harry's stomach growled again, and while everyone else laughed, he decided to get something to eat. He walked out onto the landing, and descending the stairs, heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. Padding down the steps quietly, he heard Mr and Mrs Weasley talking animatedly, and was about to turn around, when he heard his name. Silently, he crept down to the bottom of the staircase, and listened.

'… he's an adult now, we can't tell him what to do. Anyway, we're not his guardians; we have no right to stop him doing what he wants.' Mr. Weasley said exasperatedly. 'Anyway Molly, he'll probably go back to Hogwarts with Ron and -'

'Arthur, stop being so ridiculous!' Mrs. Weasley cried out shrilly. 'Hermione told me what he did after leaving them. He bought a flat for heaven's sake; he's not intending to return to Hogwarts. If he had been, he would have just come here for the summer; it's probably something to do with whatever he was up to with Dumbledore the night he -' she faltered. Harry heard a quick shuffling of feet, and a quiet sob.

'We all miss him dear.' He heard Mr. Weasley say. Harry was really tempted to turn back now, but he was terribly hungry, and wanted to know what Mrs. Weasley was planning to do about him, so he waited.

'I know, I just can't help worry for the rest of us. He was the only one You-Know-Who feared, without him, how are we to resist Him? I mean, Moody is a powerful Auror, but he's no match for You-Know-Who; we're fighting a losing battle, even with the Ministry taking an active part.' There was an uncomfortable silence, before Mrs. Weasley started talking again. 'But I'm really worried about Harry, if he'd bought a flat, he's clearly not going to go back to Hogwarts, and if I know him, he'll go after You-Know-Who.' '_Well that was a pretty close guess._' Harry thought grimly. 'It's just in his nature, he probably feels responsible for all the attacks we've had and wants to end it; but if he does that now, he'll die, we _have_ to talk reason into him Arthur.'

Harry waited anxiously, wanting to know what Mr. Weasley had decided to do. He didn't have to wait long.

'I'll see what I can do Molly. I'll talk to him, but I can't promise anything; you know how determined he can get. Remember the year Sirius escaped?' Harry's heart tightened at this, 'Well, I talked to him just before they left for school; I told him not to go looking for Sirius. He told me he wouldn't but that didn't stop him, you remember the fiasco with Sirius' escape.' Harry's lips curled in a smile, remembering Snape's look of absolute hysteria when he learnt that Sirius had escaped. 'He does as he wants, and he's an adult now, he doesn't need to take advice from us anymore, much less listen – though that has no effect anyway -' He trailed off, sounding exhausted. 'Now, I'm going to bed, I haven't had a full night's sleep in longer than I care to remember. By the way, are all the children still with Harry?'

'Yes dear, they all fell asleep watching over him. I'm so glad that he hasn't pushed them away, especially after what happened yesterday and today. He's having a nervous breakdown from all the pressure; to be honest though, I'm surprised that he lasted so long. I wouldn't have lasted five minutes in his situation. He just closes himself off at the slightest mention of his parents or Sirius,' she said sadly, 'yesterday was the first time I've ever heard him talk about it. He shouldn't keep all those emotions locked up though, he needs to talk about it; maybe Ginny can help him, they seemed to have grown closer this year.' She mused.

Clearly, Ginny hadn't told her parents that she and Harry had been going out during the last few weeks of term. '_Maybe it's too hard for her to talk about it,_' he thought, '_I know how that feels._' He looked down at his hands sadly, still not knowing how to feel about leaving her. He knew that going out with her would put her in danger, and knew he couldn't live with himself if she was hurt; but at the same time, he couldn't care less, not wanting to live another second without her at his side. He knew he was being selfish and hated himself for it, but couldn't drive the desire from his thoughts.

He missed the time they spent together, with her he could be just Harry, not the Boy-Who-Lived. He missed her warmth and her intimate smiles, and kicked himself mentally for taking so long to realise that he liked her. He was rudely shaken from his thoughts when he heard Mr. Weasley starting towards the stairs, and climbing the stairs silently, stopped on the first landing, hiding in the shadows. He held his breath as Mr. Weasley walked past him, too tired to notice Harry, who was standing barely five feet from him.

Giving him a few seconds to climb up to the next floor, Harry hurried back downstairs, and seeing Mrs. Weasley at the kitchen counter drinking a mug of tea, said.

'Hi Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry for this morning. I was just a bit shaken up and it had been a long day. I guess it just all caught up with me when I read their letter.' He looked down, embarrassed at his lack of self-control. Mrs. Weasley looked at him piercingly, trying to work out if he'd heard her conversation with Mr. Weasley.

Finally, she replied. 'It's quite all right Harry, it happens to the best of us. Now why are you out of bed at this time?' She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Harry gulped, though he didn't know why, after all, he had just come down to eat.

'Um, well, the thing is,' he hesitated, 'I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and I was wondering if I could get something to eat. I woke up pretty hungry.' Almost in confirmation, his stomach growled again. Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly.

'Of course you can have something dear, let me cook you something quickly. How about scrambled eggs?' Harry nodded eagerly, and thanked her profusely. To be honest, he would have been content with just about anything, but he was glad that she was making him something hot.

He waited for a few minutes in silence, reflecting on his earlier thoughts, and started thinking about where to start looking for the missing Horcruxes. He really had no idea where to start, but guessed that he would need to do some research into R.A.B.'s identity.

Maybe if (s)he was still alive – though that was doubtful by the sound of the note – they could join forces to find and destroy the rest of them. Anyway, he had to find out if they'd managed to destroy the locket, and if they had, how, because Harry really had no idea.

While he mused over how to destroy the soul of the most feared wizard in a century, Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen, and soon returned with a generous helping of scrambled eggs on toast. Harry thanked her again, and she left to go to bed, leaving him to eat in silence. He wolfed down the eggs, and taking them to the sink, muttered '_Scourgify_', cleaning the plate and cutlery instantly. He lay them down next to the sink, and returned to the twins' room silently, to find his friends all asleep again.

He slid under the covers, trying not to wake them, and quickly drifted off to sleep. He mused about how lucky he was to have such loyal friends, and decided that he wouldn't trade their friendships for all the power and gold in the world. With these happy thoughts, he slipped into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in a very long time.


	12. Dress Robes and a Letter

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWELVE –

_**Dress Robes and a Letter**_

When Harry woke up, the sun was already quite high. He peered around, but couldn't make any shapes out and deduced that Mrs. Weasley must have told the others to let him sleep in. He picked up his glasses, and getting up, rummaged around in his bag for a change of clothing, mentally thanking Hermione for always thinking about everything. He ambled over to the bathroom, and after taking a shower and getting dressed, went downstairs to find Mrs. Weasley bustling around the kitchen.

'Good morning Mrs. Weasley, how are you?' He asked, still a bit groggy from over sleeping.

'Good afternoon Harry,' she replied jovially, 'I'm fine thank you. Did you have a good sleep in?' She handed him a large plate of food, and continued bustling around the kitchen. Harry sat down and started eating eagerly.

'Ye, I think I really needed it. Where are the others?' He asked between mouthfuls.

'Out in the garden, they're de-gnoming it for the wedding. After all, we only have a few more days.' Harry choked on a particularly large piece of sausage.

'It's in a few days?' He asked, horror struck. 'I had no idea; I haven't received an invitation. I don't have a wedding gift for them yet or anything to wear.' He thought about his fourth year dress robes. 'No, I definitely need new dress robes.' He muttered under his breath, trying not to remember how stupid he'd felt being led around the dance floor by Parvati.

'It's alright dear. I didn't send you an invitation because I'd assumed you'd be staying here after you turned seventeen, so you'd be able to go get robes with Ron later.' Harry nodded glumly, still trying to erase the night of his seventeenth birthday from his memory. Mrs. Weasley noticed his expression, and guessing the reason behind it, added gently. 'Why don't you help the others in the garden Harry?' Mrs. Weasley asked. 'That'll take your mind off things.'

Harry nodded and got up absentmindedly, leaving his plate half-full. Mrs. Weasley watched him leave, and sadly asked herself why everything always had to happen to Harry. He ambled out the back door, and found Ron and Ginny competing on who could throw the gnomes the furthest and eagerly joined them, brushing away any questions with his usual reply of, 'I'm fine thanks.' Hermione looked determined to make him talk about it, but eventually gave up after Ron glared at her.

They spent the rest of the afternoon either de-gnoming the garden, or playing Quidditch, while Hermione sat on the ground watching them play. That evening, Ginny cooked them all dinner, as Mrs. Weasley had been cooking food for the wedding all day, and didn't have the energy to cook anything else.

After dinner they all tramped into the lounge, and discussed the wedding and plans for the rest of the summer, staying clear of Harry's plans for the rest of the year. Mrs. Weasley didn't know that Ron and Hermione intended to follow Harry on this search for the Horcruxes, and no one, including Hermione, was prepared to breach that subject. They all knew that she would never let Ron go; it would be difficult enough to stop her trying to dissuade Harry.

As the stars began to appear, they discussed when Ron and Harry would get dress robes; Hermione and Ginny had already bought theirs several weeks earlier, but they wanted to accompany Harry and Ron to help them choose. In the end, they decided to go the next day, before too many guests started arriving and they needed to set up the reception area.

Mrs. Weasley had insisted on there being an Auror guard, and had contacted Kingsley and Tonks to ask if they would mind. Tonks had jumped at the chance of seeing them, but Kingsley had been a bit nervous about the security risk, and wanted to ask the Ministry for more Aurors. Harry had refused, suspecting that Scrimgeour would simply use this favour as leverage later to get information out of him. Added to that, Harry was worried that someone could leak him position to Voldemort, and thought that the less people knew about his movements, the safer everyone was.

The next day, Harry and the others got up early, and were ready to leave by the time the first shops would open. As they were finishing breakfast Kingsley and Tonks walked in through the back door, and they all apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. They hurried to Madam Malkin's, Harry keeping his face down the whole way, while Tonks and Kingsley nervously looked around. Once inside, they all relaxed a bit, and while Kingsley kept a watch at the door, Harry and Ron started trying on robes. Ginny, Hermione and Tonks kept up a running commentary on each robe they tried on, and made the two boys try on almost every set of robes in the shop, but couldn't make a united decision on any set.

This continued for several hours, and Ron and Harry were beginning to lose patience, while Kingsley became progressively agitated. Ron's face was beginning to turn a dangerous shade of red, but the girls hadn't finished, and Madam Malkin showed no inclination of giving up either; evidently she was finding this a welcome challenge, '_And it doesn't help that it's me she's serving._' Harry thought irritably. He wanted to get back to the Burrow too; he was worried that someone would recognise him in the shop window, and was also anxious to read the other letters left for him.

He'd been wondering all day who had written him the letter that had been left with Ragnog, and was almost desperate to find out what Dumbledore had left him in his letter. While waiting for the girls to decide on a set of robes, he had been trying to guess the contents of the letter, finally deciding that it might have clues as to where or what the other Horcruxes were. Ron on the other hand, had spent most of the day complaining, repeatedly exclaiming in irritation that he'd just wear the set he was presently trying on, if the girls didn't decide soon. They just giggled and ignored his threats, passing him another set to try.

Eventually, after several hours of what Harry and Ron deemed as worse torture than Snape's lessons, they'd picked out a set of robes for each of them. Hurrying out of the shop with the robes shrunk and stuffed in their pockets, Kingsley led them back to the Leaky Cauldron. It was getting dark, and he was nervous to be walking around at night, especially while guarding Harry Potter, to which problems seemed to gravitate. Fortunately, there were no incidents, and they were back at the Burrow a few minutes later.

After Mrs. Weasley had force fed them all a pile of food, Harry asked Hermione what she'd done with his letters. She arched her eyebrow in question.

'Harry, you're not going to run off to read these alone if I tell you, are you?' Harry shook his head. He had no intention of finding himself in the same situation as last time, and was very embarrassed by his behaviour, even though they had all told him it was perfectly normal to react as he had.

'No, I won't, I promise. You can sit with me if you want, but I'm reading them alone first.' He replied firmly. If there was any information about the Horcruxes in Dumbledore's letter, he'd have to hide it from Ginny and Mrs. Weasley or he'd be forced to answer some very awkward questions.

'Alright,' Hermione agreed, grinning, 'they're in your bag that I brought over with you; in the front pocket.' Her smile broadened, 'After all, they weren't mine to take Harry, you should have checked before asking.' She knew he wouldn't want to open the letters alone again, but preferred to leave him dangling a bit.

Harry groaned in frustration, realising he'd been led on, and just pulled out his wand, muttering, '_Accio_ bag'. His bag came sailing down, and he grabbed it in mid-air, grinning smugly. 'You know they've taken to using _my_ idea at the Auror office.' He knew it would irk Hermione that he'd got credit for her idea, and couldn't wait to get her back for earlier.

Unfortunately, Hermione caught on to what he was up to almost immediately and just smiled back at him sweetly, replying, 'Isn't that nice Harry? That was so kind of them to merit Harry with the idea, wasn't it Ron?' She turned to him, but his face was set in a puzzled frown; he hadn't caught on to their discussion. Then Hermione remembered that Ron hadn't been talking to Harry when they'd spent weeks trying to find out how to summon his broom for the First Task and frowned. She turned back to Harry, who was grinning; he'd apparently picked up on her mistake too. Angrily, she huffed, 'Oh forget it Ron; you weren't there. Harry, are you going to read those letters?' She asked suddenly, changing the subject.

Harry nodded slowly, and picking out the letter from Dumbledore, he opened the envelope and began reading.

_June 1st_

Harry stared in disbelief, '_that was the day we went after the Horcrux, the day he – died._' He shook his head and kept reading.

_Dear Harry,_

_If you are reading this, I fear that it means that our little adventure has resulted in my passing into the next great adventure. Do not mourn me Harry, I have lived a full and happy life, and you have brought me much happiness in the last few years. _

_I have just returned with some evidence pointing to where the next Horcrux might be, and sent a message for you to come here. I'm keeping my promise to take you along next time I found one; I just hope that neither of us has to lose a hand or worse to destroy it. However, judging by the defences Tom placed on his ring, I can never be too careful._

_Harry, if this evening's search does result in my demise, please, I ask you again, do not mourn me. Rather, remember me, and remember that I am 157 years old. I am tired of this life Harry, I have seen more than my fair share of evil and death; and I am dying. The curse placed on Salazar's ring was powerful, and even with Severus' help, I could not destroy it. It is killing me slowly, and even if I live tonight, I do not expect to live out the summer._

_Now, as you are reading this, I assume that our little outing did not go as planned, although I do hope that we did reach the Horcrux, and it was only during the return journey that we came across problems. Assuming that, I expect that you still have one Horcrux belonging to Tom and that you have no idea how to destroy it; I never did get a chance to tell you how I got the ring. With that in mind, I left my Pensieve in your possession, and have taken the liberty of adding a few memories which I think may be of help. Peruse them at your leisure Harry, there are memories I obtained pertaining to Tom's later life, and also some of my own which describe places that he may have visited during his leave. There is also the memory of my visit to the Gaunt home this summer; it may help you find the others._

_However Harry, there is something I need you to do before you go in search of the last Horcruxes. Please, I implore you to return to Hogwarts, finish your education, and then search for them. You will not be able to protect yourself against Tom's curses without further educating yourself in Defence against the Dark Arts among other subjects. I myself had a lot of difficulties this summer, and believe me Harry; that is saying something, if I may say so myself._

_You _must_ return to Hogwarts this year, only then will you be able to confront Tom and stand a reasonable chance at success. Last time you duelled, you were very lucky; he was surprised by the Priory Incantatum but he will not again. The disappearance of Mr. Ollivander has led me to assume that Tom wanted to know why the spell occurred, and must now know. He will not make the same mistake twice Harry. _

_In my will, I've asked Alastor (the real one) to return to Hogwarts to teach, and specifically to teach you; I'm sure you will be able to find a suitable training room. I want you to take this help if he agrees; Alastor is a very capable wizard, and there are not many people who could train you in Defence as well as he could. _

_I believe in you Harry, I am confident that when you are ready, you will confront Tom and you shall win, and I do not believe I am the only one. Do not abandon your friends Harry, they are what make you strong; you need them as much as they need you. They would follow you into the jaws of death, as I would, because they believe in you, and love you, and that is something that Tom will never have or understand. This is your strength Harry, do not underestimate it, it is the power that will let you defeat Tom; it is _love

_You are like the son I never had Harry, I love you and am so deeply sorry for all the mistakes that I have made in my life regarding you. Know that I never wanted to leave you with the Dursleys, but those were dark times, and I knew that Petunia's blood was the only thing that could protect you from harm. I knew that I was condemning you to a difficult childhood, but chose your safety over your happiness. Some may say that I made the wrong choice, but I have watched you over the years, closer than you could ever imagine, and I do not doubt for a second that you would not have become the kind, gentle, caring, and strong young man I now know as you, without that childhood. I know it was difficult, but you have risen above it, and exceeded all my expectations thousands of times over. I am so proud of you Harry, and hope that you can forgive a tired, old man for making decisions on your behalf. Although I cannot believe that you told the Minister that you were, how did you put it? Ah yes, 'Dumbledore's man through and through'. I cannot express how proud and happy you made me that moment, so thank you._

_By the way, if you are wondering why I left you Fawkes; you are the only person that he has ever gone to help without my asking him. He is very attached to you, perhaps because of your loyalty towards me, and would not have agreed to stay with anyone else. I also thought he may be able to help you if you were in a tight spot, as he can Flame Travel. Good luck with your hunt, and I wish you all the happiness in the world following your victory, do not forget, I believe in you,_

_Best Wishes,_

_Albus _

By the time Harry had finished reading the letter, his eyesight was almost blurred with tears. Memories of that night ran through his head and it was all he could do to stop himself collapsing again. '_Be strong,_' he willed himself, '_he doesn't want you to mourn him, so don't._' He shook his head vigorously to clear it, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were watching him intently to see his reaction.

'Harry, are you ok?' Ginny asked hesitantly.

'Ye, I'm fine, I'm just a bit tired. I think I'll go to bed now.'

'But Harry, it's not even ten yet!' Ron exclaimed indignantly. Hermione puffed in irritation, but Harry smiled weakly, and replied softly.

'Well, it's been a long, tiring day, and I have a lot to think about.' In fact, he didn't know what to think. Dumbledore had thrown out another possibility for him that he hadn't even considered, not thinking that Dumbledore would want him to return to Hogwarts. He had a half mind to plough ahead with his plan of searching for them based from his flat, but he knew that Dumbledore was right. He needed to train a lot before going after the Horcruxes; he just didn't have the knowledge or power to destroy them yet, and needed to find the last artefact, and locate it, along with another one. There was also the locket which he didn't know anything about. It may or not be destroyed, and he couldn't know without finding R.A.B.

'_It looks like I'll be returning to Hogwarts then,_' he thought glumly. He wasn't looking forward to going back now; everything would remind him of Dumbledore, but he had no choice. 'Good night guys, see you in the morning.'

He made his way up to the twins' room, and changing into pyjamas, climbed into bed. His brain was still whirling around, thinking of everything that Dumbledore had written. '_Did he really think of me as his son?_' He mused, and with that happy thought, he fell into a quiet sleep.


	13. The Wedding

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER THIRTEEN –

_**The Wedding**_

In the days leading up to the wedding, Mrs. Weasley worked Harry and the others so hard that all thoughts regarding Dumbledore's letter were driven from Harry's mind. They were clearing the garden of gnomes, cutting the grass, getting rid of weeds, and cleaning the house intensively; Mrs. Weasley warned them that if she found a speck of dusk they'd be helping out in the kitchen throughout the wedding. Ron looked almost ecstatic at that prospect, until Mrs. Weasley said they wouldn't be eating the food, they'd be serving it.

Ron's grin dropped at these words, and they all hurried to clean the house so thoroughly that Harry later reckoned that he could see his reflection in every brass doorknob in the house. After they finished that, Mrs. Weasley had Ron, Hermione and Harry conjuring chairs in the garden, along with a marquee, dance floor and tables for refreshments and food, while Ginny helped her out in the kitchen, preparing the appetisers. The dance floor had been particularly tricky to conjure, and eventually they gave up, instead transfiguring some blocks of wood into it.

The effort Harry and the others put in left them exhausted every night and come evening, none of them had to the energy to stay up and talk. Instead they all retreated to their rooms to sleep each night, only to get up next morning and start over again.

Eventually, the day of the wedding arrived, and after the guests had all arrived and congratulated the Weasleys and Delacours, who had arrived the night before, everyone congregated in the garden for the ceremony. Gabrielle had been ecstatic when she saw Harry, much to Ginny's annoyance, and had proceeded to throw her arms around his neck, kissing him on both cheeks, and exclaiming, ''Arry, my saviour! 'Ow are you?'

Hermione and Ron had turned their faces to snigger at Harry's obvious discomfort, as he tried to wriggle out of Gabrielle's embrace, blushing furiously and stuttering, 'I – I'm fine thanks Gabrielle. H – How are you?' Even Ginny smirked; while Gabrielle went on to describe everything that had happened to her since Harry had saved her, two and a half years ago.

While the guests hurried to find seats for the ceremony, Harry, Hermione and Ron hurried to the front, and sat in the second row. They watched Bill with great amusement as he hopped from one foot to the other, his ears almost glowing; he was clearly very nervous, and Ron and Harry sniggered, while Hermione glared at them in disgust.

Suddenly, an enchanted harp began to play, and everyone stood hurriedly and turned to face the back, as Ginny and Gabrielle came in throwing multicoloured petals, which turned into enchanted butterflies as they were thrown. Mr. Weasley came in next, with Mrs. Delacour on his arm, quickly followed by Charlie leading Mrs. Weasley, who was trying not to cry.

Then in walked Mr. Delacour, with Fleur on his arm; she looked stunning, and was wearing Great Auntie Muriel's tiara. It was all Hermione and Harry could do to hold Ron back, who tried to get out onto the aisle and stop the bride. Similar scenes were occurring all around the marquee and Ginny smirked, highly amused at the wizards' antics.

Eventually, Fleur reached Bill's side, and order was restored while an ancient looking wizard started performing the ceremony. It was very similar to Muggle civil marriages, although at the end, instead of kissing, the newly weds slipped their hands into a band which glowed softy, and tightened itself around their wrists. Harry looked perplexed, and Hermione explained that they would have to stay attached to each other for a week, having to work together to achieve their goals. If at the end of the week they were unhappy living together, they could separate and the marriage would be annulled. However, once formally married, they would not be able to divorce as Muggles could.

After the completion of the ceremony, Bill and Fleur banished the chairs to the sides of the marquee next to the tables, and cleared the dance floor. People started walking around, congratulating members of the newly weds' family and greeting friends, until food suddenly appeared on the tables, and people settled down to lunch. Harry found a table with Hermione and Ron, and they were quickly joined by Ginny, Gabrielle and a young girl who Gabrielle introduced as her cousin. When Harry tried to shake her hand, she hid behind Gabrielle's dress, and Ginny giggled, asking if he had that effect on every girl he met. He smiled up at her and said yes, winking at her. Her face flushed, and she muttered angrily under her breath, sitting down next to Hermione.

Gabrielle sat next to Harry, and started telling him that she would be starting at Beauxbatons in September, and asked him what kind of spells she might learn. They continued talking, until the music started again, and partners started getting up to dance; Harry asked Ginny for the first dance, to which she eagerly accepted, and they were quickly followed by Hermione, who was dragging Ron behind her. They all danced for a bit, and watched in amusement, as Fred and George entertained Gabrielle and her cousin with some of their products. The girls giggled at their antics, and soon the twins were leading them onto the dance floor.

Everyone had a wonderful time, and danced, talked and ate into the early hours of the morning, by which time Gabrielle and her cousin had fallen asleep. After congratulating the newly weds and their families, the guests started walking out of the marquee and apparating away, while the twins cleared the mess, helped by Harry, Ron and Hermione. Bill and Fleur thanked their parents for organising such a beautiful wedding, and apparated away to start their honeymoon. Everyone else made their way back to their beds, too tired to stay up any longer.

Harry had been wondering all night how such a public event had not been targeted by Voldemort, and was immensely thankful that there had not been a problem. Nevertheless, he'd kept his wand in one of his new holsters all night, and it was only when he walked out the marquee, and saw a large group of Aurors, that he realised why there had been little risk of an attack that night. He and Ron climbed up to their rooms, mumbling good night to Hermione and Ginny at their room. Not bothering to change, they both collapsed onto their beds, still in their new dress robes, and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning, no one got up early, and when Harry eventually did wake up he couldn't hear any other noise in the house. Padding softly out of the room, he hurried to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After getting dressed, he went down to the kitchen to eat a light breakfast. The only one already up was Ginny, and after saying good morning, and getting some slices of bread and some butter and jam, he sat down next to her. They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until Ginny turned to Harry, a look of consternation on her face.

'Harry, I've been meaning to ask you something, but we've been too busy, and I've frankly been too tired to ask after all our chores.' Harry looked at her, perplexed. She took a deep breath, 'Harry, what did you read in those letters last week? Both of them obviously deeply upset you, and I was worried about you; do you want to talk about them?' Harry looked down at his half-eaten sandwich, and replied slowly.

'The first letter was from my mother,' Ginny looked aghast at this, and clapped a hand over her mouth in horror. Harry exhaled tiredly, 'she wrote me a letter the day before they went into hiding, in case they died and I survived. She explained to me why they were hiding, and said a few other things that don't really matter …' He trailed off uncomfortably. He looked up at Ginny, who had tears coursing down her face. Alarmed, he exclaimed,

'Ginny, oh don't cry. It's ok, it's ok.' He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she started sobbing into his T-shirt. They stayed there for a few minutes, until Ginny's shudders stopped, and wiping her tears away, she straightened up.

'Oh, Harry, I am _so_ sorry. I can't begin to imagine how that must have felt like,' she put a hand on his shoulder, 'are you sure you're alright? You know that you can talk to me don't you?' Harry nodded uncertainly. He had begun to come to terms with the contents of the two letters, but was worried that if he started thinking about them again, he wouldn't be able to stop, and would turn into an emotional wreck.

'The other letter,' he continued haltingly, 'was from Dumbledore. He wrote it the afternoon that he – that he – died.' He looked up at her sadly, but she nodded for him to continue. 'He wanted me to go back to school this year and complete my education, no matter what; even if he died.' Ginny let out a hiss in surprise.

'So you're going back to Hogwarts?' She interrupted. Harry looked torn.

'I don't know Gin, I know he wanted me to, but I don't know if I could stand to stay there. There would be too many memories, it might overwhelm me.' Ginny looked at him with pity, and leaned forward to hug him.

'Harry, you don't need to make that decision now, talk to Ron and Hermione, but remember, you will be safer at Hogwarts than out there hunting Voldemort. Also think about Dumbledore's wishes, he wouldn't ask you unless his reasons were well founded, and it's true that you need to complete your education. You haven't taken your NEWTs yet, and you haven't learnt everything that you'll need to, to take on Voldemort; he's still more skilled than you with a wand. You need to train before you hunt him.' Harry still looked uncertain, but Ginny wasn't finished. Clutching his shoulders and looking him straight in the eyes, she pleaded with him, 'Please Harry, I beg of you, don't go chasing after him just for revenge. You're not ready yet; you'll only get yourself killed. Please, return to Hogwarts, for me.' She let out a quiet sob, and letting go of him, ran back upstairs.

Harry was torn, he knew he should return to Hogwarts, and that Dumbledore and Ginny were both right, but didn't think that he could stand the idea of staying there after everything that had happened last year. Eventually he decided to just ask Ron and Hermione for their opinion, since they had both promised to come with him wherever he went, so it was their choice as much as his. Getting to his feet, he was about to go and wake Ron up, when Hermione appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking a bit disgruntled.

'Harry, what's going on? Ginny just ran upstairs and threw me out her room and locked it. Did you two have an argument?' Harry looked at his feet, ashamed that he had made Ginny cry.

'No, I just told her what the letters contained, and that I might not be returning to Hogwarts in September.' Hermione looked confused.

'Might not? I thought we were going to chase after Voldemort's Horcruxes. Harry, what was in that last letter?' Harry took a deep breath, before summarising the contents to her, and explaining his dilemma. Hermione looked sadly at him, before telling him that they should probably follow Dumbledore's advice, explaining that they'd have to do a lot of research to identify and find the missing Horcruxes before destroying them. That would take a lot of time, and they might as well do it at Hogwarts, as it was reasonably safe, and had a library which might be of some help. She had been thinking of asking him to reconsider staying at Hogwarts before, but knew that he was still mourning.

As for facing his memories, Hermione advised that the only way to deal with them would be to confront them, and that Dumbledore didn't want Harry to mourn him, so he shouldn't. Harry, silently agreed with her, even if he wasn't happy about it, but insisted that they ask Ron first before making a decision. So while Hermione ate her breakfast, Harry made his way up to the attic to ask Ron.

Ron was still asleep, so Harry picked up his wand and muttered, '_Aguamenti_', pointing at Ron's sleeping form. A stream of water arched out of his wand, and hit Ron squarely in the face, who woke up instantly, and grabbing his wand, bellowed '_Incarcerous_'. Harry, too surprised by Ron's reaction, didn't have time to block or dodge the hex, which hit him on the chest. Ropes appeared and wrapped themselves around Harry tightly, binding him firmly. Harry toppled over, but Ron, realising what he'd done, muttered '_Finite Incantadem_', and the ropes vanished.

Rubbing the back of his head gingerly, Harry asked him if that was his usually reaction to being woken up. Ron blushed, and replied that it became second nature when you lived with the twins. Harry grinned and got up, but crossed his eyes in pain, and sat back down again. Ron apologised profusely, and asked Harry if he wanted him to go fetch Mrs. Weasley. Harry just grumbled that he was fine, and instead began to explain the contents of the two letters, Hermione's argument and his fears, asking Ron if he'd rather return to Hogwarts in September or start searching for the Horcruxes straight away.

Ron sat there for a long time thinking, and told Harry that he needed time to decide. Harry left him and returned downstairs, still clutching the back of his head, to find Ginny talking with Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley cooking everyone more breakfast. Greeting all of them, he walked out into the garden, and sat down in the grass, trying to make his own decision. Hermione came out to try and explain her argument to him again, but he brushed her off, preferring solitude so that he could let his mind run over everything and come to a conclusion on his own.

Eventually, he sat up and returned to the kitchen, and found Ron there and Mrs. Weasley gone. Turning to him, he asked, 'So Ron, have you decided what you'd rather do?' Ron looked at him uncertainly, then Hermione, before taking in a deep breath.

'Ye, if you don't mind Harry, I think I'd rather we went back to Hogwarts. We're going to need all the training in Defence against the Dark Arts we can get, and if Moody does take the job, we couldn't ask for a better teacher.' Harry nodded, and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Looking at Hermione and Ron, who both looked anxious, waiting for his decision; he asked.

'Are those you're final decisions?' They both nodded, waiting for him to tell them his decision. Smiling, he exclaimed, 'In that case, we're returning to Hogwarts!'


	14. Training

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER FOURTEEN –

_**Training**_

The next few weeks passed in a blur for Harry. They had told Mr and Mrs. Weasley that they were going to return to Hogwarts, much to Mrs. Weasley's relief; although Harry had had to come up with a rather convincing explanation for why he'd bought the flat. Eventually, he decided to tell her that he hadn't initially intended to return to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had implored him to in his letter. It wasn't the truth, but it was a half-truth, and Harry knew that he couldn't tell her about the Horcruxes; for her own safety.

Harry travelled back and forth between his flat and the Burrow throughout the rest of the summer, and showed it to Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Remus and Tonks. He was trying not to stay in the same place for too long in case there were still Death Eaters searching for him. Voldemort had almost certainly found out that Pettigrew had been captured, as his trial was held a few days later; however, the capture had been accredited to the Weasleys to prevent a leak of Harry's location.

This had resulted in a number of things; namely the clearing of Sirius' name. Harry was happy that it had finally been achieved, but thought it was a case of too little too late. Additionally, a few Aurors had to be dispatched to protect the Burrow in case of retaliation from Voldemort, but there were no attacks there, although attacks on Muggleborns and Half-Bloods increased dramatically after Pettigrew's trial.

Harry also made sure he was spotted a few times in Diagon Alley and in various other places around London to make it difficult for anyone to guess where he'd be next. He returned to Gringotts a number of times with Ron, Hermione and Ginny to visit the other vaults and show them his parents' vault. They were all astounded at Harry's wealth, and found a number of unusual and rare objects in his ancestors' vault. Hermione also uncovered a collection of very rare books, which ranged in content from potion making, to defensive and offensive spells, to ancient runes and to Hermione's delight, spell creation. Ron was ecstatic when they found a small notebook filled with signatures of ancient Quidditch players, while Harry collected a number of dragon skin body armour parts, along with more wand holsters.

Ginny, found a few books on Healing Charms, and much to everyone's bemusement, became fascinated with the trunk full of Muggle weapons, and insisted that they take some with them. Her only explanation being that swords could kill Death Eaters just as effectively as wands; so they took a few swords and axes to practice with too, although Hermione eyed them warily and refused to touch them.

In fact, the only place Harry hadn't visited yet was Godric's Hollow. He was still unable to bring himself to visit his parents' graves, even though he'd told everyone that he would. He was planning on visiting them this summer, but after reading their letter, couldn't do it. To keep his mind off them, he kept himself busy by training hard.

He picked up the books he'd received for his birthday, and after reading them, had spent a lot of time practicing the defensive spells and Wandless magic with Hermione and Ron. They also read through the books from his vault, and practiced some defensive and offensive transfiguration, charms, hexes and spells. Ginny, being unable to practise, had watched in fascination, and was determined to learn it all as soon as they returned to Hogwarts. She read all his books too, and although she hadn't been able to cast anything, she had tried to memorise anything she found interesting or useful.

She also got Ron and Harry to practise sword and axe fighting with her, although they added heavy Cushioning Charms to the blades to prevent severe injuries. Even then, the Charms didn't stop them getting bruised, and after each training session, Harry and Ron would come back in, bruised and often limping. They were reticent to hit Ginny, and Ginny took full advantage of their weakness, attacking them mercilessly with her favourite weapon, a short handled battle-axe.

In between these vicious training sessions, Harry and Hermione had become quite adept with the Wandless magic, Hermione had managed '_Lumos_' after only a few tries, and now they could cast a whole host of Wandless spells, including shield and disarming charms. However, Wandless spells were considerably weaker than wand-cast spells, and they weren't able to cast anything powerful, their shields breaking under anything more powerful than a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Ron on the other hand, had become very adept with some of the older curses that they found in one of Harry's rare books, his favourites being '_Occaeco_', which temporarily blinded you, and '_Deliquesco_', which was similar to the Banishing Charm, except the object or person was banished to a place of your choosing.

The latter had greatly amused Ron, who on his first try tried to banish Hermione to his lap. Unfortunately, he wasn't concentrating hard enough on the actual spell, and she had landed on his head, which sent Harry and Ginny into hysterics. They didn't let him forget that for a long time, but it only spurred him on, and he practised incessantly; and for a few days, anyone who crossed Ron's path would suddenly end up somewhere else. Eventually, everyone got so fed up of it that they all decided to gang up and prank him.

For a couple of days, Harry, Hermione and Ginny searched tirelessly through all the books for spells with amusing results. Eventually, they found one, '_Rectractum_', which once cast on a wizard or witch's wand, would always turn the spell on its caster. Harry had chosen it because it had reminded him strongly of their second year, and he remembered with nostalgia how Ron's wand had backfired on him while he'd tried to stand up to Draco.

So, one dinner, Hermione slipped Ron's wand out of his pocket and using a trip to the bathroom as an excuse, cast the spell on it. The result of this was that for most of the week preceding their return to Hogwarts, every time Ron tried to banish someone, he'd send himself. He got so frustrated with it that he asked Harry if he'd tampered with his wand. Trying to keep a straight face, Harry replied negatively, angering Ron further, who went and asked everyone else if they'd done something. No one owned up to anything, so when the twins came over for dinner that evening, he pleaded with them to remove it, which they obviously didn't. He was positive that it was them, and when they started teasing him about it he lost control. He threw a string of hexes and curses that he'd recently learnt at them, but of course, they all hit him.

Everyone collapsed on the floor, laughing so hard they were crying; even Mrs. Weasley laughed. She'd been at the receiving end of the old banishing charm a number of times, and had lost her patience with her youngest son. Eventually, they stopped laughing, and got up to look at Ron, who'd turned himself into what looked like a giant pile of mush, with mushrooms growing all over him, and this amused Harry immensely, slugs pouring out of what now passed as his mouth. Hermione eventually took pity on him and undid all the hexes, and removed the spell reverser from his wand, explaining what it was.

Ron was livid that Hermione had cast the spell on his wand, but quickly calmed down, and was very impressed with it, even talking Harry into letting him try it out on his wand. After Hermione had undone Ron's spell, they all retreated to the lounge for a relaxed evening of Exploding Snap, Wizards' Chess, and chatting. However, the next day Harry, Ron and Hermione returned to their training with determination.

With only a few days left of the holidays, Harry started thinking about visiting Godric's Hollow. He knew he should go, but wasn't sure that he wanted to, knowing that it could do nothing but hurt him, and remind him of everyone he had lost. Eventually, it was taken out of his hands, when one morning he was woken up by Ron, Hermione and Ginny crashing into his room, yelling loudly.

'Harry, get up!' They shouted simultaneously. Alarmed Harry reached for his glasses and wand, and jumped out of bed, thinking there was an attack on the Burrow.

'What's going on? Is there an attack?' He asked, panicking slightly. Ron looked curiously at him, but before he could reply, Hermione cut in.

'Calm down Harry, nothing's wrong. It's just you need to hurry up and get dressed, we're going out, and we're being picked up in 20 minutes.' Harry looked confused and asked her where they were going. 'Godric's Hollow, we contacted the Ministry to ask where it was, but they told us that they couldn't let you go without an escort.' She looked down at her feet before continuing, 'So we had to agree.' Harry was about to roar in anger, but she wasn't finished. 'Harry, we know you didn't want to have anything to do with the Ministry, you're right, Scrimgeour will use this as a means to talk to you. But we thought it was worth it, for you to get a chance to see your parents' -' She sobbed quietly, 'graves. Harry, you don't have to tell him anything, and this way you can visit your home. It was the only way, and maybe, after today he might finally realise he can't get anything out of you and leave you alone. I'm sorry Harry.' She tears ran down her face, and Harry, knowing that she had only meant to help, pulled her into a fierce embrace, and whispered in her ear.

'It's ok 'Mione, it's ok.' She nodded, but her eyes were red and the cheeks were streaked with tears. 'Guys,' he said, turning to Ron and Ginny, 'Didn't you say that we need to leave in about 15 minutes, could I have some privacy so I can get dressed please?' Ron blushed and hurried out the room, leading Hermione gently by the hand, but Ginny grinned cheekily, and took her time leaving. Harry tried hard not to laugh as he pushed her not so gently from the room, and closing the door, undressed and pointed his wand at himself, muttering, '_Scourgify_'. He knew that it would never replace a shower, but he didn't have enough time. Dressing quickly, he hurried downstairs, and belted down some food that Mrs. Weasley had left out for him.

A few minutes later, four Aurors knocked on the back door, and after being let in, introduced themselves. Harry didn't recognise any of them from the Order, and wondered if their selection had been based on that. He shook off his sense of unease, and asked how they were getting there. The eldest Auror replied,

'We'll be apparating Mr. Potter, as none of you,' he looked at Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione, 'know where to go, so we'll side-along apparate all of you. There has been a Fidelius Charm placed on the area surrounding your old home Mr. Potter, to prevent, ah -' he hesitated, looking at Harry intensely, 'unwelcome guests.' Harry nodded, realising he meant Death Eaters.

They all walked outside, and Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione all paired up with an Auror, and grasped their arms, Harry pairing up with the one who had talked. 'Right then, on the count of three. One … two … three.'

The Auror twisted away from Harry, and he re-doubled his grip on the Auror's arm as everything went black. He felt the familiar feeling of being squeezed from all sides by what felt like iron bands, but as he began to think that his eyes would be squashed to a pulp if the pressure went on much longer; it stopped.

Harry breathed heavily for a few seconds, but quickly caught his breath. Looking around, he noticed that they were at the edge of a small forest, which bordered on a Muggle village. He saw an old man walking his dog, a child chasing a kite in the breeze, and a young woman hanging out the laundry in her garden. '_I lived here,_' he thought, '_this is where I last lived with my parents. It looks so peaceful now; I wonder where my parents' home was._' His heart ached, and he had to steady himself against a tree trunk to avoid falling over.

'Easy does it Mr. Potter, I know this is a bit of a shock for you. We can leave if you prefer.' The old Auror said gently. Harry shook his head, but his face looked ashen.

'I'm okay; I just need a few minutes.' The Auror nodded and looked away in respect. The others ambled over to them, a quizzical look on their faces.

'What's going on, Harry mate, are you alright?' Ron asked, seeing Harry's pale face.

'Ye, I'm fine Ron, just give me a sec.' He breathed in heavily as few times, straightened up, and shook his head vigorously. 'Right, I'm ok. Let's go.' The old Auror nodded to one of the younger Aurors, who pulled a worn piece of parchment out of his pocket, and handed it to Harry. 'Here's the address.' He said gently. Harry read the note, and thinking about it, looked up.

A small cottage that was in ruins materialised out of nowhere in front of him, and his smiled sadly, seeing two headstones just being the building. He passed the note to Ron, who read it and passed it to Ginny and Hermione. They all confirmed that they could see the cottage, and the young Auror took the parchment, pocketing it.

Harry cocked his eyebrow at this strange behaviour.

'Shouldn't you destroy that piece of parchment Sir?' He inquired, looking at the young Auror, the others turning to see what Harry was talking about. The Auror shrugged, and carelessly replied that he'd had it ever since the Charm had been placed and hadn't lost it yet. Harry and the others looked shocked, and the eldest Auror growled.

'I think you should destroy it right now sonny. What do you think will happen if a Death Eater got hold of it?' The young Auror paled at the thought, and pulling out the parchment, muttered nervously, '_Incendio_', but the damage was done. Harry felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck, as his hair stuck up. Scanning the tree line, he whispered to the others, 'Wands'. They all pulled out their wands, and Harry was about to edge towards the cottage, when out of the corner of his eye, caught a flash of movement.

He turned towards the movement, and crept forward quietly, the others following him silently. As he reached the place where he thought he'd seen something, a young boy rushed out of the bushes, chasing after a small cat.

'Cuffy!' He hissed, 'Come back, mum will kill me!' He stopped in mid-step when he looked up and saw Harry and the others, who were all hastily trying to hide their wands and look normal. Cuffy the cat also stopped suddenly, surprised by the sudden appearance of eight more humans. The boy's eyes narrowed in suspicion, 'Who are you?' He demanded, 'I've never seen you around here before,' catching a blushing Ron trying to keep his wand from sticking out of his pocket, he asked, 'and what's that you just put in you pocket?' He pointed at Ron, who only blushed redder.

Harry was about to blurt out a hastily lie, when Hermione strode forward, and crouching down next to the boy, smiled. 'Hello, my name's Hermione, what's your name?' He boy looked at her intensely, trying to detect any signs of hostility in her posture. Finally satisfied, he replied.

'I'm Jonathan, who are they?' He asked, pointing over Hermione's back. She smiled and explained that those were her friends, and that they had been strolling around the forest, and had got lost. Jonathan looked surprised.

'You're walking around in the forest?' He asked with awe. 'Aren't you afraid of those strange men?' Something about the way he said "strange men" struck Harry as odd, and he leaned forward to ask him what he meant by strange. Jonathan swallowed, and replied that for the last few weeks; hooded men in dark robes and masks had been seen walking around the forest. If anyone went in the forest now, either they weren't seen again, or they were found looking as if they'd aged ten years suddenly, had vacant eyes and never spoke again. Harry seethed with anger, he understood exactly what was going on, but before he could ask if the dark robed figures had been seen recently, Ginny asked Jonathan why he'd ventured into the forest. He looked at his feet, and mumbled,

'Cuffy escaped and ran out the garden; we live on the edge of the forest, and she ran in here. I didn't want her to disappear so I came in after her.' They all looked at each other, worried. Harry quickly picked up the cat before she escaped again, and told Jonathan that they'd take him back to his house and not to worry, he wouldn't get in trouble. Jonathan smiled weakly, and led them towards his home, behind his back, Harry signalled everyone to pull out their wands.

They were almost at the edge of the forest when a hooded figured appeared from behind a tree, blocking their path. Jonathan screamed, and ran behind Harry, who'd dropped Cuffy in surprised. He wasn't as surprised as the Death Eater – for that was what the hooded figure was – who had spotted the little boy run into the forest and had waited for his return, looking forward to a bit of Muggle baiting. Before he could open his mouth, Harry had suspended him in the air, Hermione had silenced him, and Ron had blinded him.

The four Aurors looked at the Harry, Ron and Hermione in surprise, evidently impressed. Harry replied to the unasked question. 'We've been practising.' The old Auror nodded in understanding, and asked what Ron had hit the Death Eater with; he hadn't recognised the spell. Ron grinned smugly, and explained how he'd found it in an old book at school – Harry had asked them not to tell anyone about the contents of his vaults.

The Aurors approached the Death Eater cautiously, checking for any others in the vicinity, but they were alone. He picked up his wand, and snapped it in two, before whispering to him that they were going to cancel the Silencing Charm on him, and he'd answer their questions. If he tried to shout, they'd cut off his fingers; the Death Eater nodded hurriedly in understanding, a panicked look on his face. The eldest Auror turned to Hermione and nodded; she was reticent to remove the Charm him, but obliged.

They began asking him questions about what they had been doing in the forest, how many Death Eaters were there, and what was the reason for their presence. He answered quickly; he was young, and clearly terrified. He said that the Dark Lord (Harry scowled at this) had sent them here to check if Harry Potter came to visit his parents' graves, and to capture him if he did come. They had been ordered to kill anyone with him, but to try and take him alive, and preferably not too injured. There were only five Death Eaters in the forest at the moment, they had been here for four weeks, and growing bored, had been killing and torturing any Muggle that they came across.

Harry listened to this, his temper rising as the Death Eater described what they'd done to the Muggles. Ginny saw him clenching his fists and quickly grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Harry immediately relaxed, and turning to her, smiled sadly. Jonathan was still hiding behind Harry, but was now watching the scene, wide-eyed. Tapping Harry on the shoulder, he asked,

'Do you do magic, are those wands you're all holding?' Harry turned to him, and squatting down, replied.

'Yes, we're wizards (he pointed to himself, the Aurors and Ron), and they are witches (pointing at Hermione and Ginny). We can do magic, using a wand.' He showed him his wand, and waved it to produce sparks, reaffirming his point. Jonathan was speechless for a few moments, then turned and pointed at the Death Eater.

'And him?' Harry sighed,

'Yes, he's a wizard too, but a bad one. They are waging a war with us at the moment.' Hermione looked at him uncertainly.

'Harry, you shouldn't be telling him all this, and you're not supposed to do magic in front of Muggles.' Harry looked at her confused.

'Hermione, we've just bound and captured a Death Eater right in front of him, he's already seen us doing magic. What's the harm in explaining it to him?' Hermione bit her lip, but didn't reply. 'Why don't we take him back home, while they (he nodded at the Aurors) take care of the Death Eater?'

Ron and Ginny readily approved of this plan; they were uncomfortable standing around when there were at least four more Death Eaters somewhere in the forest. Hurrying over to the Aurors, Harry quickly explained their plan, and the Aurors nodded in understanding, but insisted that one of the Aurors go with them. Harry agreed, and picking Cuffy up again, led the small group out of the forest.

As they reached Jonathan's back garden, the Auror turned to him and muttered 'Obliviate'. Jonathan looked dazed for a moment, but they steered him into the garden and knocked on the back door. A middle aged woman answered the door, and looked puzzled and a bit apprehensive when she saw the strangers. Hermione quickly explained that they'd been walking along the edge of the forest when they'd run into Jonathan, who was chasing after Cuffy. They helped Jonathan catch him, and then thought it best to drop him off to make sure he was alright.

The woman smiled and thanked them, asking them in for tea, but they declined and pushing Jonathan towards her, made to turn back to the forest. She gripped Jonathan gently by the arm, and called after them,

'Watch out for yourselves. There are weird and terrible things happening in there at the moment. Be careful, and if you need anything, just knock.' Harry turned and thanked her, then turned back to the forest. As they neared the spot where they'd left the other Aurors, they heard yells and screams, and broke into sprints.

As they reached the top of the rise, they stopped in shock. Pandemonium had broken out in their absence.


	15. St Mungo

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER FIFTEEN –

_**St. Mungo's**_

The other Death Eaters had found the Aurors, and engaged them in a fierce fight. Curses were flying in all directions but the Death Eaters outnumbered the Aurors, and the eldest was fighting two at once. Harry let out a yell and dashed into the melee, throwing curses in every direction. Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the Auror quickly followed him into the fray.

Harry yelled '_Tarantallegra_' at the nearest Death Eater, and his legs immediately went into a frenzied tap-dance. He had been battling an Auror and so didn't have time to block the spell. Unbalanced, he fell to the floor and was immediately disarmed and bound. Harry dodged a jet of red light aimed at his head, and bellowed '_Stupefy!_' at the offending Death Eater. He blocked it easily and advanced on Harry, and yelled '_Sectumsempra!_', while Harry screamed '_Protego_'. His shield was so strong, he barely felt any pressure, and immediately countered with '_Incendio_'. A streak of fire issued from his wand and flew towards to the Death Eater, who sidestepped it, almost tripping on a tree root.

He yelled '_Rictusempra_' as he overbalanced and fell to the ground. Harry blocked it with a flick of his wand, and started after the Death Eater, who was crawling away, trying to hide behind a tree trunk. Another Death Eater, seeing this, shouted '_Reducto_', pointing his wand at Harry, before continuing his duel with an Auror. Harry deflected the spell as it sped towards him, and sent it into the tree behind which the Death Eater was hiding.

The trunk splintered and the tree swayed, almost falling on Harry; but he bellowed '_Mobiliarbus_', and pointed his wand towards the Death Eater, who scrambled out of the way as Harry dropped the tree where he'd just been hiding. As he tried to get up, Harry pointed his wand at him again, and yelled '_Volutum_', a spell he'd found in a book from his vault.

The Death Eater was so surprised to hear a spell he'd never heard of, that he forgot to block it, and was immediately wrapped up in iron hoops. He fell back to the ground, unable to move, and Harry picked up his wand and snapped it.

In the meantime, Ron and Ginny had attacked one of the Death Eaters duelling the eldest Auror, and while Ginny hit him with a Bat Bogey Hex from behind him, Ron banished him to half way up a tree. They proceeded to tie him up and snap his wand, which he'd drop in the confusion of suddenly finding himself at the top of a tree, without any means of support.

Hermione however, was not faring as well. The last Death Eater was firing off curses as fast as he could say them, in any and every direction, and had caught Hermione on the leg with a Cutting Hex. The two Aurors left were having trouble subduing him, and Ron ran forward to protect Hermione, and in anger, banished the Death Eater into the air, so that he fell some 30 feet to the ground. Before he could get up, Harry ran over and stunned him, summoning his wand and snapping it in two.

Looking around, he summoned all the Death Eaters, as the eldest Auror limped towards him. 'Are you all right Sir?' Harry asked; his voice full of concern. The old Auror chuckled.

'I will be now Mr. Potter; I was only hit with a Tripping Hex. That was quite a performance you and your friends put on, you put us Aurors to shame.' Harry reddened at the praise, and mumbled that they'd only been practicing for about a month. The Auror was stunned, and would have continued the conversation, but Ginny ran over, looking worried.

'Harry, we have to get Hermione to St. Mungo's, she's losing a lot of blood, and I can't heal the cut.' Harry paled, and was about to rush over, when the Auror put a hand on his shoulder.

'Mr. Potter, I can take her there now if you like. I'm an old man and should probably have my ankle looked at, I am Apparate us both there now, the others,' he nodded at the three other Aurors walking over, 'can take care of these.' He prodded the nearest Death Eater in the stomach with a foot. Harry looked torn for a moment, then asked where he, Ron and Ginny should go. 'I think you should return to the Burrow, and tell Mrs. Weasley what happened. I've heard of her famous clock, she'll probably be worried sick.' Harry grinned lopsidedly, before commenting that she probably hadn't noticed; all the hands had been pointing at _mortal peril_ for over a year. 'All the same Mr. Potter, it's probably for the best. The Healers at St. Mungo's won't let you near Miss. Granger for quite a while. Now, instead of wasting time talking, I'll take her there -'

He limped over to Hermione, who Ron was holding onto as if his life depended on it. Gently releasing Ron's grasp on Hermione, the old Auror apparated away to St. Mungo's, leaving the others to clean up the mess.

One of the Aurors offered to Apparate back to the Burrow with them, but Harry told him that he needn't bother, they knew it well enough. He turned back to his colleagues, who were securing the Death Eaters together, and stunning the four conscious ones. After waving good bye to the Aurors, and receiving more praise and thanks for all their help, Ron, Ginny and Harry apparated back to the Burrow, Ginny holding Harry's arm firmly. Ron was still in a bit of shock, and had to be carried back into the house, though Harry muttered '_Tergeo_', pointing his wand at Ron, before they walked in. There was no point in panicking Mrs. Weasley with a blood covered Ron being carried back into the house.

As the three of them walked in, they found Mrs. Weasley knitting the Weasley jumpers next to the fire. She looked up, and frowned.

'Where's Hermione, and what happened to Ron?' She asked getting up. Harry gulped, and was about to answer when Ginny cut in.

'We got attacked by a bunch of Death Eaters,' Mrs. Weasley paled, and was about to open her mouth when Ginny pushed on, 'don't worry though. We're all pretty much fine, except Hermione got hit by a Cutting Hex on her leg. It's didn't look very serious, but we didn't know the Healing Charms and didn't have any Blood Replenishing Potion, so one of the Aurors took her to St. Mungo's. We managed to capture five Death Eaters who had been baiting Muggles and waiting to ambush Harry; those spells we've been learning really paid -' She was interrupted when a screech owl swooped in through the open window and dropped a large parchment envelope at her feet, turned gracefully, and zoomed out again.

She picked it up, and looking worriedly at Harry and Ron, who'd come out of his daze to study the envelope with interest, ripped it open. A heavy parchment letter fell out, but she caught it before it landed on the floor. Harry and Ron leaned forward to read it over her shoulder.

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_We have received intelligence that you performed the Bat Bogey Hex at nine minutes past eleven this morning in a Muggle-inhabited area. This would be a severe breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery had the Hex been performed in front of a Muggle. However, as this is not the case, you are only receiving an official warning that if you perform magic outside of school again before your seventeenth birthday, you will be expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and your wand will be destroyed. _

_Hoping you are well,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_Improper Use of Magic Office_

_Ministry of Magic_

Harry grinned, and whispered in her ear, 'Well done Gin, the twins will be so proud of you! You're following in their footsteps.' Ginny laughed and handed it the letter to Mrs. Weasley, who scanned through it, her face reddening as she read it.

Ron laughed at her expression, and said, 'Don't get angry Mum, it was brilliant. You should have seen the size of those bogeys that attacked him!' If anything, Mrs. Weasley's face turned redder at these words, but before she could explode, Ginny cut in.

'Look mum; I know you wouldn't have wanted me to fight, but there were four Death Eaters attacking three of the Aurors that were guarding us. We had to help them -' but it was too late.

'You should have let the other Auror help them! Not get into a fight yourself, you could have been killed. As it is, you have a warning; A WARNING! If you so much as say _Lumos_ outside Hogwarts now, you could lose your wand and be sent to Azkaban. Do you want that? I mean honestly.' She finished with a huff, but Ginny looked furious.

'Mum, I am not a child anymore; I have dealt with a lot more than you in my life. I know how to look after myself, and I don't care what the Ministry says about being underage, I helped capture a Death Eater today, and if that means that there is one less Death Eater to fight off when Harry faces Voldemort, I'd gladly do it again.' Mrs. Weasley's face blanched, and she whispered.

'What do you mean, _when_ Harry faces He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?' Ginny gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth, realising what she had let slip. Harry sighed, knowing that it would come out sooner or later, and squeezing the bridge of his nose, he answered.

'Before I was born, a prophecy was made predicting that a boy would be born you would have the power to destroy Voldemort, and that neither could live while the other survived. It meant me.' Mrs. Weasley collapsed onto the sofa, the blood draining from her face. She shook her head in denial.

'No, no that can't be possible, it just can't.' She whispered to herself.

Harry crouched down next to her, and held her hand gently. 'It's alright Mrs. Weasley, it's alright. The prophecy doesn't matter, I make my own destiny.' She looked up at him; her eyes were filled with tears.

'But the prophecy -' She started, but Harry interrupted her.

'The prophecy doesn't matter, believe me, I had difficulty believing it last year too. The only things the prophecy did were help Voldemort find and choose me; and it gave me the weapons I need to defeat him. He only went after me when I was a baby because he heard part of the prophecy, and wanted to destroy me immediately. If he hadn't heard it, he wouldn't have tried to murder me, and my parents would still be alive, and so would Sirius probably. But it was by murdering them that he gave me a way to kill him – love!' He stood up suddenly and started pacing. Everyone watched him in awe; this was the first time he had talked about it. 'I can sense his emotions, not so much now, but I can, and I can speak to snakes. I should have been tempted by the Dark Arts long ago, but I wasn't, because he's the reason my parents are dead. In other words, my love for them, Sirius and Dumbledore saves me, every day, because it prevents me from joining him. The only reason that the prophecy still matters, is because Voldemort sets store in it. We could go our separate ways now and the prophecy wouldn't be fulfilled, but not all prophecies are anyway. It is because Voldemort thinks that he _has_ to kill me to win this war that it still matters, that and the fact that I want to avenge them, even before I knew about the prophecy.'

He turned to face them, a determined look on his face, 'He killed almost everyone who's dear to me, and for that he's going to pay.' He growled in a low voice that sent shivers down everyone's back.

It was enough though. It was as if a light had switched on in their minds, and they understood that Harry would keep fighting Voldemort until his last breath, not because of a prophecy, but for the people he loved that had been taken from him. Ginny rushed over to him and threw her arms around him, 'I will always be there for you Harry, remember that. I _will_ fight for you, regardless of the risks.' Ron walked over and clasped Harry's shoulder.

'As will I mate, as will I.' Mrs. Weasley looked torn, not wanting to risk the lives of her children, but knowing that they had made the right choice. Standing up, she addressed Harry.

'Harry, I might not approve of what you're all about to do, but remember that although I love you like a son, if either of them' she pointed at Ginny and Ron 'lose so much as a hair, you won't need to worry about He-Who-Must-Not Be-Named anymore. _I_ will be hunting you down.

Ron and Ginny smiled, and Harry nodded, knowing this was as close as he was going to get to permission from Mrs. Weasley for Ron and Ginny to help him. Then something suddenly occurred to him.

'Mrs. Weasley, why haven't we received out Hogwarts letters yet? I've just realised that we're going in two days, and he haven't got books or new robes.' Ron and Ginny looked panicked, evidently they had forgotten too.

'Don't worry,' Mrs. Weasley smiled gently, 'they came this morning while you were gone. I was going to suggest that we go get everything this afternoon, but I now think we should do it tomorrow. We should visit Hermione first.' Harry and the others nodded. 'First though, you are all having lunch, you must be ravenous!' They smiled and Ron's eyes lit up.

They all trampled into the kitchen, and after eating a light lunch, apparated to St. Mungo's. The reception area was very busy, and Healers were running around frantically trying to deal with the mass of injured witches and wizards. Mrs. Weasley explained sadly that there had been another set of attacks that morning on Muggleborns and Half-Bloods, and the Healers were finding it hard to cope.

They hurried over to the desk marked _Enquiries_, but there was a large queue, and they waited impatiently for their turn. Eventually, Ron lost patience. 'This is stupid, why are we waiting here when we know she'll be on the Fourth Floor? We can ask around when we get up there.' They hurried down the corridor, and finding the rickety staircase, climbed to the Fourth Floor. They were chased the entire way by the portraits of medieval wizards and witches, which proclaimed that they had never seen such serious cases of spattergroit all in the same family.

Ron eventually warned them to leave him alone unless they wanted to be blasted into oblivion, and the portraits quickly ran back to their paintings. Ron turned back to the others, but Harry couldn't hide his smirk fast enough, and Ron almost hexed him in frustration. When they reached the Fourth Floor, he ran up to the nearest Healer,

'Excuse me,' Ron asked hurriedly, 'do you know where Hermione Granger is? She was hit by a Cutting Hex this morning and should have come in with an Auror.'

'Hermione Granger?' asked the Healer, running his finger down a list he was carrying. 'Yes, she's in Ward forty-five, the second door on your right through those double doors.' He pointed down the corridor to a set of double doors.

'Thanks a lot.' Ron said, before bolting down the corridor. The others chased after him, and soon found him lying on top of Hermione, hugging her to his chest.

'Ron, I can't breathe.' She wheezed. Ron apologised and jumped off the bed. Everyone smiled indulgently, so he started stroking her hair, asking how she was. 'I'm fine thanks, the Healers fixed the cut in a second, but I lost quite a bit of blood. They've given me Blood Replenishing Potion, but they said I can't leave until tomorrow afternoon.'

Harry's smile dropped at this. 'That's a shame, we were going to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get our things; our letters arrived this morning.' Hermione's face paled, and she turned to Ron.

'Why didn't you tell me Ron? Who are Head Boy and Girl, how were Ginny's OWLs?' Everyone else was stunned; they had all completely forgotten about it.

'I – I don't know Hermione. We didn't open them. We were in such a hurry to get here, and with all the things going on – we, just – forgot.' He whispered, looking down. Seeing how uncomfortable Ron was, and how Hermione's face darkened in anger, Harry intervened.

'No harm done Ron, I'll just go and get them now.' And with that he disapparated with a quiet _pop_. He reappeared a few seconds later holding four parchment envelopes in his hand. Shaking slightly, he handed them out, and quickly slit his open. In it were three letter, two were the usual reminder that term started on the first of September and the list of books he needed for the coming year. He absentmindedly noticed that there were more books than subjects he did, but ignored it, instead turning to the last piece of parchment. It was a letter from Professor McGonagall asking him to start running the DA again, but as an official school club. Her signature and those of the Board of Governors confirmed their desire to see a duelling club organised at the school.

He looked at Ginny inquisitively, wondering how she'd done in her OWLs, but she had her back turned to them. 'Ginny?' he asked tentatively. 'How did you do?'

'I – pretty well,' she replied in a quiet voice.

'Let's see then,' Mrs. Weasley said, striding over to her and pulling her results out of her hands. 'Ginny, this isn't _pretty well_, this is amazing! She's got five "Oustandings" and four "Exceeds Expectations". Well done!' Harry rushed over and hugged her tightly.

'Well done, Gin! I knew you'd do well. Congratulations!' Ginny hugged him back, laughing happily, and pressed herself to him gently. Harry stopped laughing, and pulled away from her. 'Gin, you know we -' But Ginny cut him up, holding her finger in front of the mouth, eyeing Mrs. Weasley warily.

'We'll talk about this later.' She mouthed. Harry nodded, and turned to Ron and Hermione to check that they hadn't seen what had gone on. Ron was looking at Hermione, speechless, and Hermione's hand was balled up in a fist, shock evident on her face.

'Uh, Hermione? Ron? Are you ok?' He approached them nervously, followed by Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, who were both as puzzled as him. As he neared the bed, he realised that Hermione was not balling up her fist, rather clenching something very tightly. 'Hermione, what's that in your hand?' He asked. She opened her fist, to reveal a small silver badge. Realisation swept over him, and he picked it up gently, 'Hermione, this is – this is the Head Girl Badge, that's excellent! Congratulations!' He hugged her, as Ginny and Mrs. Weasley let out shrieks.

'Oh Hermione, that's fabulous! Well done, you deserved it!' They both said together. Ron had finally come out of his stupor and gave Hermione a quick peck on the cheek, whispering something in her ear. Whatever he said must have been nice, because she positively glowed at the words. After a few more minutes of chatting happily and congratulating Ginny and Hermione, a Healer came in and asked them to leave, telling them she's be ready to leave the following afternoon. They all quickly hugged Hermione again, and left, promising to send her parents an owl to tell them, and come and fetch her around five the next day.

As they walked back down the staircase, they decided to go to Diagon Alley and buy their books and robes that afternoon. They could take Hermione to get new robes tomorrow if she needed them. Reaching the reception area, they apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.


	16. Return to Hogwarts

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER SIXTEEN –

_**Return to Hogwarts**_

While Mrs. Weasley went to collect some gold from Gringotts, Harry, Ron and Ginny made their way to Flourish and Blotts. As they entered the shop, the manager hurried over to them.

'Hogwarts?' He asked hopefully. 'Come to get your new books?'

'Yes,' replied Harry 'why, is there a problem?'

'Oh no, it's just that there are so few students returning this year, our sales have dropped terribly.' He looked sadly at the small table piled high with school books. 'We've overstocked every school book, the only ones that are selling are the Defence against the Dark Arts books, and those are mainly being bought by adults, probably trying to relearn all the material themselves.' He muttered to himself sadly. 'Anyway, which books will you be needing?'

Ron and Harry pulled out their lists, along with Hermione's, and gave them to the manager, who glanced over them quickly. They threw odd glances at Ginny, who shrugged and said that Hermione had told her she could have her old ones, which were in pristine condition anyway. The manager looked unhappy, but hurried off, running around the shop pulling out a book here and there. He quickly returned with a pile of books for Harry, and went to get the same books for Ron and Hermione. After dropping those off, he went to find the books for Hermione's extra classes, and he was just returning when Mrs. Weasley strode in.

'Are you all done then?' She asked, looking at her watch. They nodded, and after they had paid, hurried over to Madam Malkin's. Madam Malkin had been having the same problem as the manager of Flourish and Blotts, and was ecstatic to see the four of them. They all bought new school robes; Harry and Ron had both grown several inches since June, and while they were having their uniforms fitted, told her that she might have another customer the next day. Happy at the prospect of more business, she finished quickly, and soon they were heading towards the apothecary to buy their potions ingredients.

When they were finished, they walked over to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to see the twins. Like last year, the joke shop was busier than any other shop in Diagon Alley, and they had a hard time moving through the crowd. As they approached the counter, Fred spotted them and bounded over.

'Well hello there!' He exclaimed as he reached them, but stopped suddenly. He looked at them and frowned. 'Where's Hermione, you didn't leave her in Flourish and Blotts did you?' Ron and Harry grinned, but Ginny scowled.

'No, she's in St. Mungo's. We had a run in with some Death Eaters this morning while in Godric's Hollow.' Fred looked horrified. 'Don't worry though; she's going to be alright. They weren't very experienced and we captured all of them without too much difficulty. Hermione got hit in the leg with a Cutting Hex, so she's staying in St. Mungo's overnight.' Fred looked relieved, and asked them excitedly how many Death Eater they'd taken on. 'Five,' she replied smugly, 'and I got a Ministry warning for performing underage magic.'

George, who had ambled over by that point, thumped her on the back and congratulated her. Mrs. Weasley scowled but didn't say anything. Harry asked the twins if they'd developed anything new since his birthday, but they hadn't. They were working on some new products, but business was booming and they hadn't had enough time to finish testing them.

After Ron and Ginny had a quick look around at the shelves and displays, Fred saw them to the front door, and waved at their retreating backs. Mrs. Weasley led them to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, from which they apparated back to the Burrow. Ron and Ginny ran upstairs to start packing; Mrs. Weasley had insisted that they finish before playing anymore Quidditch, while Harry apparated to his flat.

Once there, he quickly collected all his belongings, and packed them all into his trunk. He locked the door, closed the windows and walked over to the fridge, pulling out his wand. Opening the door, he muttered '_Evanesco_' and closed it behind him. Walking back into the lounge, he said '_Colloportus_', pointing at the doors and windows, which made squelching noises. Satisfied, he cast a Featherweight Charm on his trunk and picked it up, summoning Hedwig's cage and Fawkes' perch simultaneously.

Harry called Fawkes, who appeared with a burst of flame, and asked him to take them to the Burrow. Fawkes presented his tail to Harry, who gripped it firmly, and with another burst of flame, they appeared in Ron's room. Ron, who had been shoving the last of his belongings into his trunk, fell backwards in surprise at their sudden appearance, but he quickly recovered his composure.

Harry grinned and dropped his things on the floor.

'Almost finished? I want to go play some Quidditch.'

'Almost done Harry, I was just trying to put the last things in my trunk.' Ron replied. Harry opened the door and started down the stairs.

'Right, well when you're done, give me a call; I'll be in Ginny's room.' Harry yelled as he hurried down the stairs. Ron looked confused for a moment.

'Hey, no funny business Harry, I thought you two had broken up!'

'We have, I just need to talk to her.' Harry replied. Satisfied, Ron turned back to packing his trunk.

Harry slowed down as he reached Ginny's door, and hesitating for a only a moment, knocked.

'Come in.' He heard Ginny call, so he opened the door. Ginny had all her clothes spread out on her bed, and was sorting out what she wanted to take back to Hogwarts. She turned to see who it was, and seeing Harry, smiled.

'Hey, how are you? Have you already packed?' Harry smiled and nodded.

'It's a lot easier using magic; do you want me to pack these for you?' he asked, pointing at the clothes on the bed.

'No thanks, I need to decide what to take; I don't have enough space in my trunk.' Harry grinned, whipped out his wand; and pointing at the piles of cloths, said '_Reducio_'. The clothes shrank down to a more manageable size, and Harry flicked his wand lazily at them, saying '_Locomotor Cloths_'. The clothes rose a few inches into the air, and Harry directed them to Ginny's trunk, dropping them in slowly.

He put his wand away, and turning around, he saw Ginny grinning slyly. With a smile on his face, he said 'Done. Now, we need to talk.' She looked disappointed and pouted.

'Can't you quickly pack the rest of my stuff for me?' She asked grumpily. 'It _would_ speed things up a bit.' Harry chuckled and pulling his wand back out, packed the rest of her things.

'Right, now that that's done, can you please explain what you thought you were doing earlier? Didn't you understand what I said after his – his funeral?' Ginny looked up at him sadly.

'I understood you, but it doesn't mean I agreed with your reasoning, and you didn't give me a chance to tell you what I thought. Weren't you listening when I told you that I'm in no more risk staying close to you than far away? I'm a blood traitor Harry, if a Death Eater sees me; he's going to kill regardless of my links to you. Please Harry, I don't think either of us can stand this separation. Every time I look at you, I think of the time we had together, and you know what? I miss it, I really do. That's why I did what I did at the hospital; I wanted to remember the feeling, to remind myself of you, because I don't know when you're going to come to your senses and -' she was suddenly cut off as Harry pulled her into a tight embrace, and kissed her.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry heard a loud knock on the door and pulled away from Ginny. She looked dazed, and it took Harry a moment to notice what Ron was saying.

'Oi Harry, I've finished packing, has Ginny finished yet? We can go out and play a bit before dinner if you want.' Harry had to shake his head vigorously to clear his thoughts, which were entirely focused on Ginny.

'Err yeah, she's finished Ron, we just need to finish our conversation. We'll meet you downstairs in a minutes okay?' His voice sounded a bit strangled, and as he heard Ron go down to the kitchen, he wondered how Ron would take this new development.

He turned back to Ginny and opened his mouth to speak, but she wiped anything he was about to say from his mind as she kissed him fiercely. They were locked in together for a few long moments, but eventually pulled apart. Ginny looked very ruffled, and breathing heavily, smirked.

'I think you've finally come to your senses.' Harry grinned.

'_I_ think you've just driven away any sense I had!' Ginny laughed, and tried to straighten her hair.

'I think we should go downstairs before Ron gets suspicious.' Harry nodded, and ran back upstairs to get his Firebolt. Joining Ginny and Ron in the kitchen, he walked out into the garden, and played Quidditch with them until it was dark and Mrs. Weasley called them into for dinner.

The next day, they practised some sword fighting until they had to pick up Hermione. At five, they all apparated to St. Mungo's and finding Hermione waiting for them, went to Madam Malkin's to get her new robes. When they got back to the Burrow, Hermione and Ginny went up to pack Hermione's trunk while Harry played Ron at Wizard's Chess, who thrashed him over and over again.

When the girls came down, Hermione had a twinkle in eyes, and Harry strongly suspected that Ginny had told her about the previous days' events. They ate dinner and went to bed early, needing to get up early to get on the Hogwart's Express on time.

Their departure was very smooth the next morning, which was probably due to the fact that the twins were no longer at Hogwarts. Without having to deal with their antics, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were able to get downstairs, fed and with all their trunks by ten thirty. There they met Kingsley and Tonks, who would be apparating to platform nine and three quarters with them. Tonks gripped Ginny's arm firmly, while Kingsley picked up her trunk and cage, and they all apparated to King's Cross.

Harry was beginning to get used to the feeling of apparating, and as they headed towards the train, he looked around the platform. There were Aurors everywhere he looked, all nervously pacing, their wands drawn. Harry noticed that there were a lot less students on the platform than was usual, but wasn't surprised. After all, the manager and Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin had both told him that there were fewer students attending Hogwarts than in previous years.

He looked around and noted that Slytherin was by far the least represented house this year. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of Slytherins who had returned for NEWT classes. '_Well that's not a surprise_' he thought grimly, his mind drifting to Draco and Snape.

They climbed aboard the train, and found an empty compartment, which was no longer difficult, and stowed their trunks in the luggage rack. They climbed back down to say goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, and found Mr. Weasley, the twins and Remus with her. Ginny ran forward and threw her arms around her dad.

'What are you all doing here? I thought you said you needed to work.' The twins smirked.

'Well the Ministry assigned my Office to help guard the Express this morning, the Aurors are spread very thin at the moment.' He replied, smiling down at her.

'Well doesn't she sound happy to see us?' Fred asked, turning towards his twin.

'No Fred, I don't think she is. I think she'd rather we were at work. Don't you think so?' Fred grinned broadly, and they both pulled something out of their pockets. Harry couldn't make out what they were, but jumped back in surprise when they were expanded into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes stalls. Everyone laughed loudly, apart from Mrs. Weasley, and suddenly a wave of students ran towards them.

Next instant, the twins' stalls were swamped with students eager to buy their products, and the others had to retreat a bit to get some space. Remus grinned at their antics, and grabbed Harry by the arm, greeting him warmly.

'How are you doing Harry, I heard about you're fight at Godric's Hollow. The Aurors were very impressed, and I must say, I'm proud of you.' He smiled at Harry, who blushed at the praise.

'I'm fine, really. We've been practising using the books I got for my birthday – thanks by the way – and using some books from my family vault. There are some really rare and old ones down there, and we've learnt a whole bunch of old spells which have turned out to be very useful.' Lupin nodded.

'Yes, I heard that Ron banished two Death Eaters into the air, blinded one, and that you bound one with iron hoops. I was wondering if you could teach me them?' Harry smirked.

'Well, I suppose I could,' he hesitated, pretending to concentrate, 'but it'll need a lot of practise. Why don't we show you what we learnt over Christmas? I think Mrs. Weasley mentioned something about us going to Grimmauld Place.'

'Yes, that's right. The Order wants to keep a close eye on you over the holidays, so you can teach me the spells then.' The train's whistle blew behind them, but no one was on the train yet.

There was a panic as the students left the stall and sprinted back to the train. Harry and the others quickly said their goodbyes, Mrs. Weasley insisted on hugging all of them before they left, and clambered onto the train. Ron and Hermione headed off towards the prefect carriage, leaving Harry and Ginny alone, but they were soon joined by Luna and Neville.

'Hi Harry!' Neville said happily. 'Did you see what Fred and George did? It was brilliant; I managed to by a fake wand before the whistle blew!' Harry smiled, but turned to the window. The Hogwarts Express was gathering speed, but he could still see the Weasleys and Remus, and waved to them enthusiastically. Remus smiled and waved back, while Mrs. Weasley cried, and Mr. Weasley comforted her. Soon though, the platform disappeared, and Harry turned back to the conversation the others were having.

They were discussing the books they'd had to buy, wondering what the new curriculum would be. Ginny was telling Neville how she thought they'd be getting lessons in how to fight the Dark Arts instead of just defence against them, to help fight against Voldemort. Neville thought that they were just reinforcing the Defence against the Dark Arts classes, while Luna said in her dreamy voice, that the Board of Governors were trying to form an army to take over the Ministry. Harry just sat there and listened intently, and after a while, challenged Neville to a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny pulled out a book on Healing Charms, and Luna starter reading the new edition of _The Quibbler_.

They passed the time like this, Ginny and Harry glancing at each other every few minutes and smiling shyly. Hermione and Ron came in a few times, but had to continue their patrols. Hermione insisted on setting a good example, although she did stop once long enough to tell them that the new Head Boy was Ernie Macmillan.

As it grew dark, Harry and the others changed into their school robes and waited impatiently for the train to stop. Harry was ravenous, even with the usual horde of sweets that he bought from the plump witch pushing the food trolley, and he was one of the first ones off the train when they stopped in Hogsmeade. He dragged Ginny into one of the carriages, and was soon joined by Hermione and Ron.

As the Thestrals pulled them up to the castle, Harry asked Hermione and Ron about their prefect duties. Hermione went into a long monologue about responsibilities and her new duties as Head Girl, while Ron just sat there, looking out at the grounds. Noticing Ron's look of misery, Harry asked him what was wrong.

'This is our last year, the last time we're going to make this journey. I'm just trying to remember as much of it as possible.' Harry's stomach clenched, he hadn't thought about that. Hogwarts had been his only real home for a long time, no matter what Dumbledore had said, and he couldn't imagine never coming here again. '_That's if I live that long_' he thought pessimistically. Ginny squeezed his hand reassuringly.

'It's going to be fine Harry, don't worry.' Harry smiled weakly, and squeezed her hand back. Hermione watched this play of unspoken affection, and a small smile graced her lips.

A few moments later, the carriage stopped outside the steps to the front door, and Ron got out, quickly followed by Hermione, who pulled him away for an instant. Ginny watched them for a moment, before turning back to Harry, she looked worried.

'Harry, are you sure you're alright? You know you don't have to go through this. If it brings back too many memories, you can always turn back; we'd still see you during the holidays.' She added sadly. She didn't want him to leave, but felt compelled to give him the choice.

Harry smiled at her sadly, 'I'll be fine, it just takes some getting used to. Anyway, I don't think I could last a whole term without seeing you.' She smiled back, and leaned forward at kissed him gently on the lips.

'That was really sweet, thank you.' Taking his hand in hers, she led him out of the carriage, and catching up with Ron and Hermione, they walked up the steps of Hogwarts together for the last time.


	17. Surprises Galore

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER SEVENTEEN –

_**Surprises Galore**_

The Entrance Hall was ablaze with torches and echoing with footsteps as the students crossed the flagged stone floor for the double doors to the right, leading to the Great Hall. As Harry passed the door though, he stopped and stared incredulously into the Great Hall, but wasn't the only one, and soon there was a large pile-up at the entrance to the Great Hall.

The four long house tables had been replaced with one horseshoe shaped table, but before he could articulate his surprise into a sentence, Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat at the centre of the staff table.

'Mr. Potter,' she called, 'could you please vacate the doorway so that other students can find their seats?' Harry nodded mutely, and hurried into the Great Hall to find a seat next to Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna.

'What do you think this is all about?' He whispered in Ginny's ear.

'Isn't it obvious Harry? There weren't enough students returning this year for Houses to be necessary.' Harry gulped, but Ron looked positively terrified.

'Does that mean we're going to be sharing dorms with the Slytherins?' He asked, in a panicked voice. Hermione huffed in exasperation.

'Ron, honestly; you're a prefect, you should be trying to promote house unity. And yes, I suppose you will be sharing a room with them, but they're not called Slytherins anymore, nor are we Gryffindors. Anyway,' ignoring Harry and Ron's looks of horror, 'I don't think any of the Slytherins in our year came back, apart from Blaise Zabini.' She scanned the room to check. 'Oh, and Daphne Greengrass.'

Harry looked relieved, Zabini and Greengrass may be Slytherins, and he knew Zabini was an arrogant git, but they were the only Slytherins who Harry felt certain wouldn't join the Death Eaters. Ron on the other hand, still looked grumpy, but didn't open his mouth. Harry scanned the room, wanting to find out how many students had returned this year.

Very few students had returned, particularly from his year. He counted twelve seventh years left in the Hall, including him, and no more that twenty students for any other year; he shook his head sadly. They had given up on their education when they needed it most, but he stopped, remembering that he had not been intending to return either. Instead, he looked up at the staff table, wondering who had been brave enough to take the Defence against the Dark Arts position this year.

He was baffled to see Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Savage, one of the Aurors who had been guarding Hogwarts last year, sitting at the table. They were talking quietly among themselves, and to Hagrid, Professor Slughorn and Professor Vector. He couldn't understand why there were so many Aurors at the table, surely only one was needed to replace Snape?

Professor McGonagall got to her feet, and talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the new Headmistress. Her face was worn and tired, and appeared to have aged a decade in the few months since Dumbledore's murder.

'A few words before the First Years come in. As you will have noticed, we are no longer sitting separately in our Houses; the Board of Governors has deemed it unnecessary to prolong the House system with so few students attending Hogwarts this year.' Unhappy groans were heard throughout the Hall. 'As such, the First Years will not be sorted, and instead will be shown to their seats when they enter; I ask you to be hospitable and try and befriend them. I needn't remind you all how you felt when you first arrived here.'

Several students laughed, and Harry remembered how he'd thought they needed to pull a rabbit out the Sorting Hat. Grinning, he looked back at Professor McGonagall, who was smiling sadly in recollection of her own arrival. Looking back down at the sea of faces, she continued.

'Now, as to sleeping arrangements, you will all be sleeping in your old dormitories, and the first years will be split evenly among the four Common Rooms. However, I don't want any of you to fill them with House prejudices. They will serve no purpose as there are no longer any Houses; I hope you all understand, because I will not tolerate such behaviour.'

Harry gulped, knowing that Professor McGonagall wouldn't hesitate to punish anyone.

'And now, the First Years can enter.' Every head in the Hall turned towards the double doors, which opened slowly to show a small group, of no more than fifteen First Years, led by Professor Flitwick. They were all looking very nervous, and Harry smiled in recollection, watching them walk in and stare at the enchanted ceiling.

Professor Flitwick led them to their seats, and made his way back to the staff table. Quiet murmuring could be heard among the older students, who were discussing the changes made to their school. Professor McGonagall stood again to greet the new arrivals before the start-of-term feast.

'To our young arrivals,' she said with a small smile, 'welcome! I only have two words for all of you,' she grinned mischievously, something very few people had ever seen her do, '_tuck in_.' Harry and Ron roared in approval as the plates in front of them filled magically.

As Harry and Ron each seized the nearest plate of chops to them, Ginny turned to Hermione.

'Why do think they didn't put us all together? It doesn't make any sense not to sort the First Years but put them all in the Common Rooms; they're bound to become prejudice against other Houses.'

'I don't know,' Hermione bit her lip in thought, 'maybe they just couldn't find a large enough area to house everyone. But if I find anyone in Gryffindor trying to instil House prejudices in them, I'll put them in detention for a week!' She scowled darkly. Ron gulped, but Harry grinned.

'There isn't a House called _Gryffindor_ anymore Hermione, surely you would know that?' He said smugly. Hermione shot him a dark look then resumed eating, but Ginny and Neville laughed heartily, while Luna continued to look into space dreamily. It wasn't every day one could find fault with Hermione.

They continued to eat in silence throughout dinner, and were just starting desert, when Ginny, who had been looking at her plate, deep in thought, looked up with a look of sudden comprehension on her face.

'Of course,' she exclaimed. They all looked at her in confusion, 'I understand why there are so many Aurors at the staff table tonight.' Harry looked at her questioningly. She took a deep breath. 'The reason that there all those new books to buy this year, that weren't on the list last year, is that they are expanding the curriculum. Remember, one of the books was called, _Applications of Defence against the Dark Arts_? I think they're not only going to teach us Defence against the Dark Arts, but also how to duel, and not just with wands.' There was a look of dawning comprehension on Harry's face.

'Yeah, that makes sense. I remember, there was an article in the Prophet in July where McGonagall had said that they'd be teaching us how to protect ourselves against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.' Hermione looked horrified.

'But, but, they're going to teach us how to fight like Muggles?' Ron asked incredulously.

'No Ron, it makes sense.' Neville interrupted, leaning forward. 'When Harry and I were in the Department of Mysteries fighting the Death Eaters with the Professor Lupin and the others, they didn't only fight with their wands. Three Death Eaters tried to strangle Harry, and that man – Sirius Black,' Hermione, Ginny and Ron looked at Harry worriedly, but he had a steely look plastered on his face, and was looking straight ahead of him, 'knocked Dolohov away from Harry. He was about to summon the prophecy, and Black just shoved him out of the way.'

A single tear made its way down Harry's face, but Ginny wiped it away, and hugged his gently. Neville noticed his reaction, and looked at Harry apologetically, and Ron put a hand on his shoulder in sympathy. Hermione looked sadly at the scene, and was about to say something, when Professor McGonagall stood up again. Talking ceased immediately as everyone turned to face the Headmistress, but Ginny continued to hold on to Harry. Professor looked sadly around the Hall.

'I know this has been a very difficult summer for the vast majority of you, but if you will give me a few more moments of your attention before your minds start to drift, I have a number of announcements.

I will start with the usual start-of-term notices though,' she said, 'First Years should know that the Forest is out-of-bounds to students – and a few of out older students ought to know by now too.' Harry and the others exchanged smirks, though Harry still looked sad.

'Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to say that there is a continued blanket ban on any joke items bought at the shop Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and any other joke shop. A full list can be found on Mr. Filch's office door.

There are several changes and additions to staffing this year. The Board of Governors has asked me to employ some Aurors to supply practical lessons in Defence against the Dark Arts. So please welcome Professors Nymphadora Tonks, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Cuthbert Savage, and the _real_ Alastor Moody, who will be teaching you Transfiguration, Hand to Hand Combat, Sparring, and Defence against the Dark Arts respectively.'

Whispers swept the room, and everyone came to the same conclusion as Ginny had earlier. Professor McGonagall looked around for a moment before pressing on.

'There has also been a change in the curriculum this year. For Third Years and above, the following classes will be obligatory: Transfiguration, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Muggle Studies, Hand to Hand Combat, Sparring, and Basic Healing, which will be taught by Madam Pomfrey. There will also be a number of optional subjects, comprising of Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, History of Magic, Astronomy, Herbology, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures. None of these are required, although if you are in your final OWL or NEWT year, and took them last year, it is advised that you continue them. The changes were made because the Governors believe that everyone must be instructed in how to defend themselves, as it is highly likely that you will all be needing to very soon. Finally, a new school club has been authorised, the Defence Association.'

Angry mutters erupted around the room, but Professor McGonagall ploughed on. 'I know that it was an "illegal" group when formed,' she scowled, remembering Umbridge's dictatorship, 'but Harry Potter, its founder, has been asked to organise it again, as an official school club. It will be open to anyone in the Third Year or above, details about its location and meeting times will be posted in due course.'

The muttering did not diminish as she stopped talking, and in confusion and mild irritation, she glared around the Hall and called out. 'What is it?' Harry stood up nervously, aware of all the eyes trained on him as silence swept the Hall.

'Professor, there is no group called the Defence Association, well none that I founded anyway.' He trailed off nervously. Ginny squeezed his hand reassuringly. 'I founded a group called Dumbledore's Army two years ago, and if you don't mind, I'd like to keep that name.' Scattered cheers from all the old DA members were heard at this, and Professor McGonagall looked sadly at her students, before nodding slowly.

'So be it, I'm sure Albus would have been proud to carry your name.' She said, but no one heard her over the rapturous applause that greeted her nod.

After the noise had quietened down, she called out into the now silent hall.

'And now, Professor Flitwick will designate which First Years will go to which dormitories.' Flitwick stood up on his chair, and pulled out a short scroll of parchment. He quickly allocated four First Years to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and sent three to live in the Slytherin dormitories.

As soon as he finished, Professor McGonagall stood up, and looking around the drowsy faces, dismissed them.

'And now, it is late and your warm beds await you. I will impress upon you the importance of being alert and rested for your lessons tomorrow, so don't dally. Good night.' She said, sitting down again, and turning to talk to Professor Flitwick.

There was a deafening scraping noise, as the benches were moved back, and the students began to file out of the Great Hall towards their dormitories. Hermione jumped up, looking at Ron, frustrated.

'Ron, we're supposed to show the First Years where to go!'

'Oh yeah,' said Ron, who had clearly forgotten with all the unexpected news, 'Hey – hey, you lot! Midgets!'

'_Ron!_' Hermione exclaimed in frustration. Harry smiled.

'_Some things just never change._' He thought, making his way up the stairs with Ginny.

'What do you think of the changes to the syllabus?' She asked him as they followed Ron, who was trailing behind the First Years.

'I don't know, I like the idea of the extra lessons in Defence, and I reckon that Moody, Tonks, Savage and Kingsley will make good teachers, but it's going to make our schedules really packed. We won't have much time to be alone together.' He moaned playfully, squeezing her hand. '_Not to mention my research into the Horcruxes._' He thought wearily. Ginny giggled and clasped his hand tightly in hers.

'I'm sure we'll think of something.' Harry smiled down at her.

They reached the portrait hole, and climbed in behind the First Years, who were looking around in wide eyed amazement. Ron and Hermione were giving them short explanations about passwords, trick stairs and the like, so Harry and Ginny edged over into one corner. Making sure Ron was looking the other way; Harry leaned forward and brushed her lips with his own.

'Good night.' He whispered in her ear. She smiled happily and pulled him into a hug.

'Good night Harry.' They pulled apart, just as Ron and Hermione turned to lead the First Years up the stairs. Hermione beamed, while Ron looked confused and shrugged. Ginny ran over to join Hermione, so Harry followed Ron up to their room, dropping off the First Years on the way.

Neville had reached the dormitory first and was in the process of unpacking his things, muttering angrily when he realised that he'd forgotten something. Harry and Ron paused in the doorway to look around. Dean and Seamus' beds had gone, leaving just the three beds and a lot more space for them. They walked in, and began unpacking their trunks too, Harry expanding his belongings. Ron looked at Harry forlornly.

'Damn, why didn't I think of shrinking my stuff? That would have made packing so much easier!' Harry and Neville smiled.

'Don't worry Ron, I didn't think of it either, and at least you didn't forget anything. I've forgotten some of my textbooks and cloths again.' Neville said wearily. They continued unpacking in silence, and after they had floated the last of their belongings into their cupboards, quickly climbed into bed.

Harry extinguished the candles with a flick of his wand, and laid it on the bedside table along with his glasses. Rolling over and pulling the covers up to his chin, he wondered what the new classes would be like, and how he was going to find the remaining Horcruxes. Shifting again, his thoughts shifted to Ginny, and smiling to himself, he drifted off to sleep.


	18. Sparring

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended. 

– CHAPTER EIGHTEEN –

_**Sparring**_

Breakfast next morning was a hurried affair, as Harry and Ron had overslept, and Hermione and Ginny had waited for them impatiently in the common room. As they left the Tower however, they ran across a bunch of surly security trolls, who Hermione surmised had been hired as extra protection against Voldemort. Reaching the Great Hall, they sat down next to Luna and Neville, who was looking at the patrol outside the Hall with sheer terror etched on his face. He evidently hadn't forgotten his last encounter with them. As they started eating, Professor Flitwick hurried over and asked them to wait at the end of breakfast to receive their new timetables.

After they had eaten, they remained in their places, waiting for everyone else to finish so that Professor Flitwick could make his descent from the staff table. After the last plate had been cleared though, five Professors stood up and began organising timetables, much like Professor McGonagall had last year for Sixth Year Gryffindors. They asked students what subjects they would like to take along with the compulsory classes.

Hermione was immediately cleared to continue with Ancient Runes, Herbology and Arithmancy, as well as all the obligatory classes, but waited for Ron and Harry to get theirs, as they all had Sparring together first period. Neville chose to add Herbology to his timetable, but begged to be released from Potions, but Moody, who was organising their timetables, ignored him. He hung his head dejectedly and moved away to stand next to Hermione.

Moody then turned to Harry, who had decided last night not to take any extra classes. When he heard this, Moody focussed both eyes, normal and magical on Harry, and leaned forward, growling softly in his ear.

'Need more time for practising eh, Potter? Dumbledore asked me to train you this year, if you needed it. From what I heard from some old friends of mine though, you don't really need much help.' He grinned and winked at Harry, who was smiling shyly. 'Do you want the extra help though? I could show a few tricks I've picked up over the years.' Harry smirked and nodded. 'Good, I'll find a time at which I'm free and I'll get back to you in our first lesson. Here you go.' He said, handing Harry his timetable.

A few minutes later, Ron was cleared to take Herbology with Neville and Hermione, and the four of them left the table together. Ron looked down at his timetable and moaned.

'With all these extra classes, we've hardly got any free periods. Look,' he pointed at the parchment, 'I've only got four.' He looked at Harry's parchment. 'Hey Harry, why aren't you doing Herbology with us? You did it last year.' Hermione looked exasperated, but Harry leaned over and whispered.

'With all the new lessons I didn't think I'd have much time to research – well, you know,' Ron's eyes widened in understanding, 'so I decided not to take any optional classes to give me more time.' Ron nodded vigorously as they left the Hall, but as he rounded the corner, he collided with a security troll. The troll was furious, and chased him all the way to the front doors, grunting angrily and swinging his club around his head.

The others had a good laugh as they watch Ron running for his life, but Hermione glanced at her watch and moaned.

'Come on,' she said anxiously, 'we're going to be late for Sparring.' They ran down the steps and catching up with Ron, set off towards the banks of the lake.

They were the first ones there, and waited as a trickle of students made their way down from the castle. A few moments after the last students, Zabini and Greengrass arrived, the Auror, Savage, appeared, silhouetted against the double doors. He walked down levitating a large trunk in front of him. As he approached, every head turned to greet him, and he smiled.

'Hello and welcome to your, and my, first Sparring lesson.' Harry and Ron chuckled. 'Now, can anyone tell me what sparring is?' Hermione's hand shot up, but Harry, who was used to this, leaned away from her unconsciously to avoid getting hit on the nose. 'Ms. Granger?'

'Sparring is the act of making the motions of a duel without actually causing injury. It is a form of training.' She answered back eagerly.

'Excellent, Ms. Granger. Ten points to –' he stopped, as everyone laughed, 'ah yes, I forgot. No more houses, therefore no more house points. What a pity!

Now, as Ms. Granger said, sparring is the practising of duelling without causing injury. There are several things that need to be learnt so that one can duel well. The most important being the control of one's body.' He looked around the class, and pulled out his wand. Harry instinctively slipped his out of his sleeve slowly, but Savage only flicked it at the trunk, which opened to reveal a collection of swords.

'For the next few weeks, we are going to be practising with Muggle weapons, as learning how to wield them, will teach you how to wield a wand correctly. You will work on your footwork, muscle control, balance, and fighting tactics. When to parry, dodge, attack, counter-attack,' he listed, 'and most importantly, you will learn when to stand and fight, and when to retreat to fight another day.'

Harry and Ron were grinning broadly by the time Savage had finished, and seeing their reactions, he raised an eyebrow.

'Is there something funny Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley? Care to explain to me what I said that was so funny?' The rest of the class turned to watch them, Zabini narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

'Nothing funny Professor, it's just that Ron and I have been practicing sword and axe fighting for most of the last month.' Savage's eyes widened in surprise.

'Really Mr. Potter and what is your weapon of choice then?'

'The broadsword, Professor.' He replied immediately.

'And you, Mr. Weasley?'

'The battleaxe, Sir.' He replied without hesitation.

'Well that's a shame, I would have liked you two to give us a demonstration, but I don't have any axes.' He pulled out two swords. 'Have you ever tried the longsword Mr. Weasley?' He said, handing them the swords. Ron looked at Harry, who nodded, and turned back to Savage.

'No need Sir, we brought them with us. They're in our room.' He said, putting the sword down. 'Shall we go and get them?'

Savage thought for a moment, then agreed. As Harry and Ron made their way back to the castle, Savage started showing the others how to hold a sword, and how to stand comfortably without losing your balance of manoeuvrability. They hurried back to their common room, thankfully managing to avoid another troll patrol, and climbed the stairs to their room. Collecting their weapons, they sped back to the lake shore, in time to watch Savage give a demonstration on how to move smoothly while wielding a sword.

He beamed as he saw them approach, and beckoned them forward.

'Right, I'd like you two to show the others a few lunges and parries, nothing too fancy. I just want enough for them to get the general idea of how to handle a weapon.' Harry and Ron grinned at each other competitively, and moved apart, giving themselves plenty of room to move. Everyone else took a few paces back, forming a circle around the two, and watched apprehensively as Harry and Ron started warming up their arm muscles; making large sweeping motions with their chosen weapon.

At the smallest hint of a nod from Savage, they both edged towards each other, still sweeping their weapons around. They began sidestepping, circling one another looking for a weakness in the others position. Suddenly, Harry lunged forward, sweeping his sword in an arc that would connect with Ron's shoulder. Ron stepped to the side, and brought his axe down on Harry's sword, knocking it away like an irritating fly, but Harry had expected the parry. He span around, swinging his sword towards Ron's lower back in a vicious slicing movement which caught Ron by surprise. Ron tried to block the new attack by throwing his axe over his head to deflect the oncoming sword, leaving his front exposed, but the block was enough.

Harry; unbalanced by spinning around and having his attack brought to a sudden halt, tumbled. He rolled away and as he stood up again, Ron advanced on him, swinging his axe and grinning triumphantly; but Harry was far from beaten. He sidestepped Ron's swing and thrust his broadsword at Ron's midriff, but Ron jumped out of Harry's reach, and releasing the axe handle with one hand, brought it crashing down on Harry's blade. The sudden and violent collision rattled Ron's jaw, but it was Harry who was forced down, almost to his knees, as his sword was dragged to the ground by the blow. Ron's face lit up as he saw and opportunity to win, and quickly swung the axe behind his shoulder, before bringing it back over towards Harry's prone back. But Harry, still bent over, took a step towards Ron, bringing his sword up from under him. The side of the axe grazed Harry's shoulder, but his sword didn't waver. It stopped just before Ron's stomach, point up.

'Yield.' He said, grinning mischievously. Ron, caught with his guard down, let go of his axe in surrender.

'Nice one Harry, I thought I'd got you when I knocked you to the ground.' He said, grinning. The rest of the class, initially stunned by their flowing movements, and the brutality of some of the attacks, started clapping enthusiastically. Savage approached them, smiling appreciatively.

'Well done boys, that was quite the demonstration. A bit more than I asked for, and certainly more than I expected, but an excellent display none the less.' Ron and Harry blushed at the praise; they'd only done it for fun, and had got a bit carried away.

'Now,' he said, turning to the class, 'does anyone know what Mr. Potter and Weasley did wrong?' Hermione, who had watched them practicing for the last month, raised her hand.

'Let someone else try to answer Ms. Granger, you have watched them practise before.' Scowling, she put her hand down, as a few Ravenclaws put their hands up. Savage looked around, and pointed at Terry.

'Mr. Boot, what mistakes did they make?' He asked.

'Well, Ron clearly underestimates Harry. As soon as Harry was on the ground, Ron thought it was over and let his guard down to try and finish Harry off.' Ron blushed crimson, and all the other hands dropped at Terry's response.

'Very good Mr. Boot, now, can anyone tell me what Mr. Potter's mistakes were?' He asked the students. Zabini put his hand up. 'Mr. Zabini?'

'Well,' he drawled, 'Potter doesn't appear to have any defensive moves. He was constantly on the offensive and didn't try to parry any of Weasley's swings; he obviously doesn't consider what could happen if his attacks failed, and doesn't make any contingencies for such a scenario.'

The words cut deep, and Harry suddenly remembered the battle at the Ministry. He hadn't contemplated the possibility of failure then either, and it had almost cost him his life and that of his friends; not to mention Sirius, '_Sirius_', he thought. He remembered his body curving in a graceful arc, as he sank backwards though the ragged veil.

Infuriated, he snarled, and advanced on Blaise, sword still in hand. Blaise was shocked by Harry's reaction, and watched, in stunned disbelief, as Harry approached him threateningly. Out of nowhere, a streak of light hurtled towards Harry, and hit him in the back; Hermione lowered her wand to her side.

Frozen by Hermione's '_Impedimenta_', Harry was still glaring at Zabini. There was a long silence, before Zabini came out of his shock, and asked Hermione why Harry had reacted that way.

'I don't know Blaise, it could have been a thousand different things, but it most likely reminded him of our fight in the Ministry. His godfather died that night, and Harry still blames himself, even though it was Voldemort's doing.' A shiver ran through the class at the utterance of Voldemort's name, but Blaise nodded and approached Harry.

'Sorry Harry, I didn't mean to remind you of that. I was only talking about your demonstration.' He didn't sound sincere, but Harry reckoned that the apology was the best he was going to get. Still under the spell, he nodded slowly, accepting the apology, and Hermione ended the spell.

They shook hands, and Savage proceeded with the lesson, showing them parries with different swords, and how to thrust. By the end of the period, everyone's arms were aching, and when dismissed, they made their way up to the castle slowly, cradling their arms. As homework, Savage asked them to practice moving around on the balls of their feet, and try to find their most balanced stance.

Back up in the common room, Ron and Hermione tried to get Harry to talk about his reaction to Zabini's comment, but he refused to talk to them. Soon though, Hermione had to go to Ancient Runes, leaving Harry and Ron together.

'Hey, Harry, do you want to play some Chess?' Ron asked Harry timidly.

'Yeah, sure Ron.'

They set up the board, and played several rounds, keeping the conversation safe by only talking about inconsequential things. Hermione joined them for lunch, and they made their way down to the Great Hall, meeting Ginny, Luna and Neville in the Entrance Hall. Once seated, Harry turned to Ginny and asked her about her morning.

'Oh, it was great! I had Basic Healing this morning with Madam Pomfrey; she taught us the charm which heals non-magical cuts, it was really interesting. Did you know that different cuts need different charms to heal them, and sometimes it also depends on the spell used to make the cut?'

Harry thought back to last year, when Snape had muttered what sounded like a song after Harry had hit Draco with '_Sectumsempra_'. He nodded and returned to his food.

'Then after lunch, we had Defence against the Dark Arts with Moody; he started teaching us how to cast non-verbal spells. It was really hard, did any of you manage it in your first lesson?' Hermione nodded, while Ron smirked and told her how Harry had belittled Snape in his own class. Ginny laughed, but gave Harry a quick hug when she saw that he was looking at his plate sadly, probably recalling the night of Dumbledore's murder.

Ron looked at the two of them suspiciously, and was about to open his mouth, when Hermione kicked him under the table.

'Ow! What was that for Hermione?' Harry looked up to see what the commotion was about, but Hermione blushed and ran from the table, mumbling something about needing to go somewhere. Harry shrugged, and continued eating; a few minutes later, he asked Ron for the time. Looking at his watch, Ron swore; they had five minutes to get to Flitwick's classroom.

He and Harry sped out the Hall, and only just made it on time. They sat down hurriedly at the back of the classroom, pulling out their textbooks and wands quickly. Hermione was near the front, and kept her head down, not turning to acknowledge their presence. Ron was about to ask Harry what he thought was going on with Hermione, when Professor Flitwick stood up on his desk and started the lesson.

'Now today, I would like to start on the Muggle-Repelling Charm. The incantation is -' Harry muttered '_Muffliato_' and turned back to Ron, tuning Professor Flitwick's voice out as they sat discussing Hermione's odd behaviour.

At the end of the lesson, Ron and Harry cornered Hermione in the corridor, and asked her why she was behaving oddly, and kept kicking Ron. Looking frightened, and glancing from Harry to Ron and back to Harry, she spoke, her lower lip trembling.

'Ron, H – Harry and Ginny have started going out again.' Harry was surprised that this was the cause of all the odd behaviour, and he turned to Ron to gauze his reaction. Ron was frozen in shock, but his face gave away his emotions, as it slowly turned into an ugly grimace. In a cold voice that wasn't anything like his normal voice, he spoke, barely above a whisper.

'Just needed to _talk_ to her, you said. Just finishing your _conversation_, you said. You filthy liar! I've seen you stealing glances at each other all summer, but I kept my mouth shut, thinking it was just because you'd had been going out. You know what? I'm not okay with it! Keep you hands off my little sister if you don't even have the guts to tell me about it!'

He stormed off, leaving Harry and Hermione dazed. Neither of them had ever seen Ron this angry, and it frightened them. Harry mind was so numb from shock he didn't even think of chasing after Ron to tell him the truth.

The two of them returned to the common room in silence, trailing their feet and completely forgetting about dinner. When they walked through the portrait hole, Harry mumbled a good night to Hermione and climbed the stairs to his dormitory. He opened the door and walked in, but stopped in total confusion. All of Ron's belongings had vanished.

* * *

A/N - I've just worked out how this edit thing works, shame, it might have helped with anonymous replies earlier. Anyway, lily 101 asked why I made Ron so angry, and if that was in line with canon. I must admit, I just got a bit carried away! I figured that it wasn't the fact that they were going out again that bothered Ron, rather, it was that he thought that it had been going on all summer (well since Harry's birthday anyway) behind his back. I think that he would feel betrayed, especially if he thought that Harry had confided in Hermione but not him, it would be like favouratism among his friends, and Ron would feel like their friendship had been compromised. The bit about him leaving (I won't say where yet!) was in true Ron fashion: over-reaction. Anyway, if most people think it wasn't true to canon, I'll change it, but I'll give it a few days first. 


	19. Moody Thursdays

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER NINETEEN –

_**Moody Thursdays**_

Ron, it transpired had moved into one of the other common rooms. Using inter-House relations as an excuse, he had gone to Professor Flitwick, asking to sleep in what had been Hufflepuff's dormitories. All the teachers had been very impressed with his idea, and Professor McGonagall had announced the following evening that anyone could move to other dormitories if they so wished.

Although most people were reticent to move away from those they had slept with since arriving at Hogwarts, there was quite a lot of moving among the First and Second Years. From the upper years, only Luna moved, to go and sleep in Ginny's dormitory, much to the other girls' displeasure and two of them moved away within a few days. Ginny was so incensed by the tactless act, that she jinxed both girls the following day after a lesson.

Harry continued to see Ron during classes, but Ron sat with Terry Boot, and refused to look at either Harry or Hermione, always sitting near the front. Every time Harry tried to approach him, he turned and walked away, or started a conversation with whoever was near him. It looked like their friendship might be irreparable, and Harry and Hermione quickly gave up trying to talk to him, instead spending hours in the library working or researching artefacts belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw or Godric Gryffindor which might have survived until the present day.

If not in the Library with Hermione, Harry could often be found spending time with Ginny. He didn't tell her the reason for his and Ron's break-up, although she had harassed him about it ever since breakfast on the second day of lessons, when Ron had sat as far away from them as possible. Harry wasn't talking to Ron at the moment, but he knew what Ginny's reaction would be if she found out the reason, and didn't want to put Ron through one of her tirades. Instead, they spent a lot time walking around the lake, or sneaking into the Room of Requirement after curfew, during which time Harry practised some of the spells he'd learnt over the summer with her.

As much as he loved the time he spent with Ginny, and he constantly regretted having taken so long to notice her, Harry felt guilty about not having told Ron about their renewed relationship the moment they'd broken away from their kiss. It prayed on his mind that Ron didn't want them to be together, and it made him uncomfortable, knowing he may have lost his best friend over a matter of indiscretion. Unfortunately, there were other, far more important things on his mind at the same time, and he was never able to pluck up the courage to confront Ron about his renewed relationship with Ginny.

Ever since Moody had mentioned extra Defence practice, Harry had become impatient to start his training, and after their first Defence against the Dark Arts lesson, during which Moody insisted on putting everyone through a rigorous test on their Shield Charm, Harry stayed behind. Hermione stood uncertainly at the back of the classroom, but Ron strode out, not even looking at them as he left. As Harry approached the front of the class, Moody looked up from his notes,

'Ah Harry, I see you haven't forgotten our little arrangement then?' Harry smiled nervously.

'No Sir, I haven't forgotten. I would be very grateful for any time you would be willing to spend with me.' Moody smiled appreciatively.

'Right then, in that case, how about you meet me back here at eight o'clock tomorrow evening? I'm sure this room will be big enough for us.' Harry nodded, and was about to turn away, when he remembered something.

'Actually Sir,' Harry hesitated, 'there's another room which would probably be far more useful.' Moody looked at him questioningly so he pressed on. 'It's called the Room of Requirement; it equips itself for your needs. It's where the DA practised.' A smile of recognition spread across Moody's lips, although on him it looked more like a grimace.

'Ah yes,' he said smiling in recollection, 'Dumbledore mentioned it some time ago, opposite that tapestry of Barnaby the Barmy wasn't it?' Harry's stomach lurched at the mention of Dumbledore, and suddenly, he remembered that Malfoy had been using the Room of Requirement to fix the Vanishing Cabinet throughout last year. Anger flared up inside him and he clenched his fists, fighting to control his emotions, but Moody was looking down at his notes again and didn't notice anything.

'Barnabas the Barmy Sir,' he answered haltingly, 'but yes, opposite his tapestry on the Seventh Floor, we could ask it to supply all kinds of things. When the DA used it, it provided books on defence, dark detectors, and cushions for stunning.' Moody looked thoughtful.

'Hmm, yes, that sounds like the ideal place to practise, why don't you take me there tomorrow? Come by my office at eight, and we'll go together.' Harry nodded, and swinging his bag back onto his shoulder, turned back towards the classroom door. He had hardly taken three steps when Moody called after him. 'By the way, Potter, when are you starting the DA up again?' Harry turned back to him and frowned.

'I don't know yet, most of the original members aren't here anymore, I don't know how many people will want to join.'

'Well why don't you put up a few posters telling people where and when to go for the first meeting? That way you'll know straight away how many people want to join; I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.' Harry smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He turned back towards Hermione and they left in an uncomfortable silence.

They'd barely made it to the end of the corridor when Hermione started pestering him about what he should teach the DA this year, listing all the useful spells they'd learnt over the summer, but Harry wasn't listening. Instead, he threw his hands up in frustration,

'Honestly Hermione, Moody's _just_ asked me when I'm going to start it up again. How in Merlin's name do you expect me to already have a teaching plan for the whole year? I barely planned more than a few sessions in advance in the first place!' Hermione huffed and pushing passed a small group of First Years, hurried off towards the Great Hall, leaving Harry trailing in her wake.

Harry shook his head at her retreating back, wondering if things would ever be the same again for Ron, Hermione and him. He knew that she was upset at Ron's behaviour, and he didn't mind spending time with her in the Library, but try as he might, he could not stand it when she felt the urge to start reaming off what she thought he needed to do. It just wasn't in his nature to let himself be told what to do; surely she knew that by now?

As he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner, he thought about his upcoming lessons with Moody; he realised that he'd never actually been taught how to duel properly. He'd been taught a few spells, and had learnt a few by himself, but he'd never been taught how to use them. He hoped Moody would be willing to show him or Harry may end up looking like him; or worse.

He gulped, but his sombre mood was lightened as he turned into the Great Hall, and saw Ginny sitting next to Hermione, talking animatedly. He just couldn't believe the effect that she had on him these days. All he had to do now was think about her, and however miserable he was feeling, and he had a lot to feel miserable about, he would feel lightened, as if she could share the pressure weighing down on him without even realising it.

As he approached the girls, Hermione saw him and fell silent and scowling, turned to talk to Neville. Harry sighed, and sitting down next to Ginny, squeezed her small hand gently.

'Hi,' he whispered, leaning into her ear, 'how are you?'

'I'm fine thanks Harry; Hermione said that Moody's going to be giving you extra lessons, is it true?' Harry nodded. 'Wow, I wonder what he'll teach you.' She wondered aloud. 'I mean, he's a legend at the Ministry. He must know loads of complex spells; you'll probably be able to learn loads from him.'

While Ginny mused over the new turn in Harry's life, Harry was trying to look at Hermione surreptitiously, wondering why she was so angry with him. It wasn't like he'd something terrible was it? After all, he didn't ignore her every time she snapped at him over homework, but he felt that there was something missing this time. Breaking Ginny out of her reverie, he whispered in her ear.

'Ginny, why is Hermione angry? She's ignoring me, and all I said was that she should give me a bit of time to plan the DA meetings before she tried to tell me what to teach them. I don't even know who I'm going to be teaching yet. I might have to go over everything we did last time with them.' Ginny looked at him with pity.

'Harry, it's not you're fault. Hermione's just really upset about Ron at the moment; anything is likely to annoy her now. Why aren't you talking to him anyway?' Harry shrugged and started filling his plate.

Ginny looked shrewdly at him for a few moments, but realising that he wasn't going to tell her, she turned back to her food. After the meal, Hermione hurried off without talking to Harry, but Harry wasn't going to give up as quickly as she expected. Giving Hermione a small head-start, Harry squeezed Ginny's hand and raced after her, knowing already where to find her. Catching up with her just before the Library, he grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alcove.

'Hermione wait, what's going on? Why are we suddenly not talking? Don't tell me that mouthing you off, sorry for that by the way,' he added quickly when she glared at him, 'is what's bothering you. We've said much worse to each other in the past, and you've _never_ reacted like this before.' His face softened as he continued. 'I've already lost Ron because of my stupidity; I don't want to lose you too.' His voice cracked, and he looked down at his hands, not knowing what else to say.

Hermione looked at him in astonishment; truly, this was a reformed Harry. Never had he opened up as much as he had this summer, '_This must be Ginny's influence, I've never seen him like this before_' she thought. Sighing, she pulled him into a gentle hug,

'You're not going to lose me Harry;' she whispered gently, 'we're still friends, I just –' she faltered, 'I just miss Ron.' Harry nodded,

'I know, I miss him too, but I don't exactly blame him. I should have told him straight away, like Ginny did with you.' He looked up at her for confirmation, and she shrugged.

'Yeah, she told me when we went up to pack my trunk.' Harry signed.

'I'm just worried that he'll never talk to us again, I mean, this is much worse than in Fourth Year, at least then he was just jealous.' Hermione held him closer.

'Don't worry Harry; he'll come around, just give him time. In the meantime,' she added, her voice turning serious, 'we should keep looking for possible artefacts, there's a whole section of the Library that we haven't looked in yet.' Harry didn't point out that they'd only been looking for two days, and that most of the Library had yet to be covered. Instead, he nodded dully and let her lead them into yet another section of the Library.

The next day, Harry spent most of the day eagerly awaiting his lesson with Moody, and he could barely sit still throughout Potions, much to Hermione's displeasure. In fact, he was so distracted; he mixed up all of the ingredients, even _with_ her help, and when Slughorn ambled over to review his work, he took one shocked look at the contents of Harry's cauldron and backed away quickly.

'Harry m'boy, what in Merlin's name do you have there?' He asked, pulling out his wand. 'Because whatever it is, it most certainly isn't Veritaserum!' He waved his wand at the cauldron, and the thick, murky brown liquid vanished. Zabini smirked, but Harry didn't look the least bit put out.

'Sorry Sir, I'm feeling a bit sick this morning, I had a Peppermint Toad last night and it's not sitting very still.' He rubbed his stomach for added emphasis, but Neville looked at him incredulously. He didn't remember Harry eating any Peppermint Toads before going to bed, but Harry winked at him and he relaxed. Slughorn laughed, and turning to Hermione's cauldron, added.

'Very well, but keep that in mind next time you buy anything from Honeydukes!' Harry grinned sheepishly but didn't reply. Zabini looked livid that Harry had managed to get away with such a poor potion, his had been considerably better than Harry's, and he'd been told to write a length of parchment on the processes required to produce Veritaserum, from start to finish.

He spent the rest of the lesson throwing filthy looks in Harry's direction, but Harry didn't notice, as he was counting the minutes until his session with Moody. At the end of the lesson he rushed off to lunch excitedly, not considering that eight o'clock wouldn't come any faster if he ate sooner. Hermione barely kept up with him, and in a disgruntled voice told him to slow down or she wouldn't help him with any more of his homework.

Although this didn't have the desired effect, it did give Hermione enough time to catch up with him while he stopped and thought about it, before he rushed off again almost immediately, leaving Hermione trailing behind. When she arrived at the table, he was already wolfing down his food, and she couldn't suppress a grin, thinking about how similar his eaten habits were to Ron's.

After lunch though, Hermione put her foot down and insisted that they go back to the Library until Sparring at three thirty. Harry tried to wiggle out of it by saying he wanted to spend some time with Ginny, but was stopped in his tracks when she said she had Herbology. Slightly annoyed, Harry trundled up the staircases behind Hermione, muttering something about her trying to ruin his day. She smiled at his antics, but didn't hesitate to drag him to yet another area of the Library they needed to look through.

At three thirty, they ran down to the lakeshore, to find that the class was just starting, and they hurried to join in the warm up exercises. Unfortunately, being the two best duellers, Savage paired Harry and Ron up, and although Harry kept to defensive moves as they'd been instructed, Ron wasted no time in trying to beat Harry to a pulp. Savage eventually stopped them when Ron managed to break Harry's nose, and after sending Harry up to Madam Pomfrey, gave Ron a detention.

Harry thought that he'd deserved all the punishment Ron gave him and didn't make a fuss about it; after all, Madam Pomfrey would fix his nose is a second, and if this helped Ron vent some of his anger at Harry, he was glad to act as a punch bag for a few weeks. Hermione on the other hand, was furious, and as she accompanied Harry up to the hospital wing, she didn't stop cursing Ron and his fiery temper.

At ten to eight, Harry hurried down the second floor corridor to Moody's classroom and was about to knock, when Moody opened the door, grinning.

'Saw you coming.' He growled good-naturedly, pointing at his magical eye.

'Right then Potter, lead the way!' Harry eagerly obliged, and in next to no time they were standing opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, and Harry was pacing backwards and forwards, muttering,

'_I need a room where Moody can teach me how to duel and fight in realistic situations … something like what we had for the DA would be nice … a few books that I could use too …_'

'Impressive Potter, I wish I'd known about this room when I was here. Could have come in handy don't you think?' He winked at Harry and opened the highly polished door which had just appeared out of nowhere.

Stepping inside behind Moody, Harry gasped at the dramatic changes the room had made; it was _huge_. Along one wall was a bookshelf with a few books on fighting the Dark Arts, and what looked like Auror training books. Against the other wall, there was a table covered in dark detectors, and on the floor were a few weights and fitness mats. At the back of the room stood a number of human shaped targets, and Harry thought he could make out wands in their hands -

'Right then,' Moody said, turning to face Harry, 'we won't start with anything rigorous today. I just want to get an idea of your knowledge of spells, your wand work, and your fighting style.' Harry nodded in understanding. 'Right,' Moody suddenly barked, making Harry jump, 'where's your wand?'

Harry flicked his wrist and his wand jumped out of his holster. 'Very good, I'll have none of that wand in the back pocket nonsense if I'm to train you.' Harry grinned slightly, remembering when Moody had warned him about losing a buttock.

'Now show me what stance you'd take if I were to challenge you to a duel.' Harry straightened his back, stretching to his full height, and facing Moody, pointed his wand at his heart. Moody grinned, and suddenly shot a Stunner at Harry, catching him completely off guard. He slumped to the floor, but Moody immediately revived him and helped him up.

'_Constant Vigilance_, Potter! How many times will I have to repeat it before you understand? I could have been a polyjuiced Death Eater like that scum a few years ago, and you just gave me an easy target. You must _always_ be on your guard, and in a fight, _never_ present so much of your body as a target. Stand like this,' he turned to face Harry side on, 'and crouch a bit. Always keep your knees bent, ready to jump out of the way of an Unforgivable. I want you to practise walking around with your legs bent and getting used to it, because it's tiring, and you'll need to build up some stamina to be able to do you for hours.' Harry nodded uncertainly, his enthusiasm for the session was rapidly diminishing, but he realised that he was learning invaluable advice which might help him survive the next few months and years.

Moody then tested out Harry's spell work, asking him to perform some of the spells he'd learnt over the summer. Harry showed him how he had bound a Death Eater in iron hoops, and he Banished Moody onto the top of the bookshelf, much to Moody's amusement.

'Those are some very impressive, and I must say, rather amusing, spells Harry.' Moody said, grinning, after they tried out a few more of the older spells. 'Now, I saw your Shield Charm yesterday, and I must say it was very impressive,' Harry grinned at the compliment, 'but I want to test it against something else than I can teach in class. Wand up!' Harry lifted his wand, and the instant Moody lifted his, he bellowed '_Protego!_'. He didn't hear the incantation, but he saw the purple beam of light shooting towards him and stood his ground. Moody wanted to test the limits of his Shield; he wasn't about to sent something lethal at Harry – he hoped.

Thankfully, his Shield held, just, and the spell vanished. Harry's Shield was wavering, and the spell hadn't bounced back onto Moody, but neither had it penetrated Harry's defences. Shaking a bit, he cancelled his Shield and sat down.

'Very good Potter, I'm surprised you managed to stop that, usually no one less experienced than an Auror can deflect that curse with a simple Protego Charm.' Harry looked up questioningly.

'Are there other shield charms that are more effective?' He asked. Moody nodded, but Harry was flummoxed. 'Then why don't they teach them to us instead of Protego?'

'Because they are very complex spells, and much harder to conjure and hold up than Protego.' Harry concentrated on a distant memory.

'Hold on, is there one that looks like a silver solid shield?' Moody nodded enthusiastically, asking him how he knew. 'I saw Voldemort conjure it in the Department of Mysteries.' Harry answered quietly. Moody scowled, and pulled Harry to his feet.

'There's nothing you can do for them now Harry, they wouldn't want you to wallow in misery and guilt now would they? You need to be strong, for them, and for yourself. Voldemort won't wait until you stop grieving to attack you, you need to put it behind you and focus on the task ahead. You can grieve after you've beaten that piece of filth, but right now, if you stop and start thinking about them, you won't be able to stop.' Harry nodded shakily, and taking a deep breath, stood up again.

'Very good, now I think we should stop here for the time being, you're worn out, and I don't want to push you, well not too much anyway.' Harry smiled weakly, and walking towards the door, called over his shoulder.

'Thanks for the session Professor, see you tomorrow.' He opened the door and walked back to his room, not waiting for a reply from Moody, too physically and emotionally worn out to think straight.

He found Ginny and Hermione in the Common Room waiting for him, but he didn't feel like recounting his evening, and told them he'd tell them about it in the morning. After giving Ginny a quick peck on the cheek, he climbed the flight of steps and reaching his room, collapsed on his bed, too tired to change into his pyjamas. Neville looked up, concerned for his friend, and asked him is he was feeling alright, but Harry only snored lightly in response. Smiling to himself, Neville climbed into bed, and flicking his wand, extinguished the candles, before falling asleep himself.

* * *

_Nancy L._ - This is not the end of this fanfic, far from it, but I'm at University at the moment, and therefore can't dedicate as much timeasI'd like to it. At the moment the chapters are about a third the length of canon chapters, and I hope to write a book length fanfic, so I'm barely a third way into the story. Remember, this fanfic's not even 2 months old, and I didn't prepare it at all before posting, it just popped into my head while I was reading someone else's story, so give me a little time. Don't worry, I'm not leaving you 'hi and dry', but the last few weeks have been incredibly hectic (thanks to a bunch of courseworks and tests). Tomorrow I have the day off, so I hope to add a chapter or two, until then, you'll just have to be patient! 


	20. Dumbledore's Army Reborn

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY –

_**Dumbledore's Army Reborn**_

The next few weeks were a blur for Harry. Between Hermione insisting on spending every free period in the Library, his classes, and Moody's training sessions, Harry barely found time to spend with Ginny, and hadn't decided yet when he would start the DA again. Professor McGonagall had asked him to meet her that evening, and after another two hours spent pouring over ancient volumes referring to Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw, Harry hurried up to her office. Reaching the spot in the seventh-floor corridor where a single gargoyle stood against the wall, Harry whispered the password that he had been given at breakfast.

The gargoyle leapt aside, the wall behind it slid apart, and a moving spiral stone staircase was revealed, on to which Harry stepped, hesitating when he remembered the last time he had entered this particular office. As he was carried in smooth circles up to the door with the brass knocker that led to McGonagall's office, he recalled sadly how angry he had been with Dumbledore that night, and he fingered his wand nervously in anticipation.

Hesitating for only a moment when he reached the door, Harry knocked.

'Come in,' came McGonagall's voice.

'Good evening, Professor,' said Harry meekly, walking into the Headmistress's office.

'Sit down, Potter,' she replied tersely, 'I announced at the start of the year that you would be reforming the DA, but I haven't heard on any meetings yet. May I ask why you have not arranged any meetings yet?' She demanded without preamble.

'Err …' began Harry awkwardly, but McGonagall's expression softened.

'I have heard that Professor Moody has been giving you additional classes, are you too busy to organise the DA? I could ask a teacher to lead it if you would prefer.'

'No!' Harry answered sharply, 'I'll start it up again; it's just that I've been quite busy recently. I'll put up notices this weekend.' McGonagall nodded in agreement.

'Thank you Potter, that will do, have a pleasant evening.' She said with a small smile.

'Yes, Professor,' Harry replied.

He got to his feet, but did not leave.

'Professor, will there no longer be any Quidditch?' The smile left McGonagall's face instantly.

'Unfortunately not, the Governors deem it too dangerous to have such large gatherings at the present. It would almost be an invitation for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to attack the school, now that Dumbledore is – is gone.' Harry nodded mutely, and swung his bag over his shoulder.

Reaching the door, he turned to see McGonagall weeping silently, her composure forgotten. Harry hesitated, uncomfortable in her presence.

'Goodnight, Professor.' McGonagall looked up slowly, but Harry had already left.

'Goodnight … Harry.'

Harry related his meeting to Hermione and Ginny when he reached the Common Room, which was now void of other students. Hermione immediately set about writing a notice for him to put up, and Ginny snuggled into Harry's side, while he started stroking her hair gently.

'Harry, have you looked at Dumbledore's Pensieve yet?' She asked him suddenly. Harry stopped stroking her hair, looked down at her and shook his head. 'Why? He probably left something important for you to see; otherwise he wouldn't have bothered leaving it to you at all.'

Harry silently agreed with her, and was sure that Dumbledore had left him clues regarding the Horcruxes, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Viewing Dumbledore's memories would make his death final, and he couldn't do it. Finally he just shrugged, saying that he'd do it later. Ginny looked at him suspiciously for a moment longer, before shrugging and curled into his side once more.

They sat in comfortable silence for some time, the only noise coming from the soft scratching of Hermione's quill. When Hermione finished, Harry had a quick look at her handiwork, and happy with the notice, wished the two girls good night.

The following Tuesday evening found Harry pacing nervously in the Room of Requirement. He had absolutely no idea how many people would respond to the announcement, which he'd put up three days ago, and was worried that the only people who would return would be those who'd joined two years ago. He had made some hurried plans for the meetings, but needed a minimum number of participants for some of them, which would include realistic scenarios.

There was a gentle knock on the door; Harry turned around. Ginny entered, closely followed by Hermione and every remaining member of the original DA, except Ron. Harry's heart dropped, he had hoped that Ron would at least come to the meetings to learn how to defend himself. Not noticing Harry's sad look, Ernie whistled in appreciation as he looked around the room.

'I like what you've done with the room Harry, much more space to spread out.' There were nods and murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group, as they looked around the room. Harry had asked for a similar room to the one that he was using with Moody, but had expanded it, and asked for more cushions.

Hermione immediately headed towards the bookshelves, and started running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes, whispering to herself in awe. '_Five Easy Steps to Perfecting your Wandless and Non-Verbal Spells_ … _A Guide to Offensive Spells_ … _Magick Most Evile_ …wow, this is in the Restricted Section …' and without further ado, slid _A Guide to Offensive Spells_ from its shelf, sank into the nearest cushion and began to read.

Harry shook his head in amusement, smiling in recollection. Ginny slid her arm around his waist and was about to say something, when she was interrupted by another knock. They turned to see a large group of Fifth and Sixth Year students enter, soon followed by Lisa Turpin, and some shy Third and Fourth Years. All of them stood near the door, their jaws hanging in astonishment.

They weren't the only ones with their jaws hanging though, Harry was astonished by the turnout; there were easily forty people in the room. Recovering quickly, he addressed the newcomers.

'Well – err – hi.' Every head turned towards him, and the talking stopped instantly. 'Welcome to Dumbledore's Army,' he hesitated to collect the thoughts running around in his head, 'as I hope you all know, this club was formed to help people learn how to defend themselves. We will be practicing spell work, shields, and hopefully some offensive spells, aiming to put them into practice later this year. As there are a lot more people than I expected, I'm going to have to divide the club into groups, based on ability. Are there any questions?'

He looked around the group, his eyes falling on a small group of ex-Slytherins standing at the back of the room. He was happy that they'd decided to come, as hopefully their presence would help break down some of the usual inter-House animosity. Noticing a raised hand, he waved in its general direction.

'Yes?' He asked, praying that it wouldn't be a question about his past exploits. He really didn't want a repetition of the DA's first meeting in the Hog's Head.

'How are you going to divide us into groups?' A small girl piped up. 'You haven't even seen us do anything yet.' Harry smiled indulgently.

'Well that's what the rest of this session is for, so everyone partner up. You lot,' he said, turning to the original DA members, 'partner up together. There's no point in pairing up with someone vastly outclassed.' Ginny and the others nodded, and separated themselves from the rest of the assembled students.

Everyone else divided up quickly, and Harry soon had two rows of people facing each other, wands drawn.

'Right, we're going to start with _Expelliarmus_, you know, the Disarming Charm. Does anyone not know how to cast it?' He looked around the room, and a few Third Years raised their hands, blushing furiously.

Some of the older students sniggered behind their hands, and Harry scowled.

'I don't see what's so funny, Ackerley. Can you cast it properly?' He arched an eyebrow in accusation. Stuart's lips immediately straightened, and he nodded. 'Alright then, try and disarm me.'

The room was instantly filled with whispers, as people bet on Ackerley's chances of success. He pulled out his wand, and with an unnecessary flourish, yelled '_Expelliarmus_'. Harry, who hadn't even bothered to raise his wand, stood his ground, as the spell whooshed over his head.

Several people snickered, and the Third Years laughed openly, as Ackerley's face turned beetroot red. Harry sighed, and with a sudden flick of his wand, which was so fast no one noticed it, disarmed Ackerley. More people laughed as the wand sailed into Harry's hand, but Harry's eyes were narrowed.

'You think that that was funny?' He called out to the assembled students. 'Well it's not. That spell has saved my life several times in the last few years, and you should all know how to disarm an opponent.' He handed Ackerley his wand back, and turned back to the rest of the room.

'Right, any student who can't cast the spell, stand over there.' He said abruptly, pointing to one corner of the room. 'For the rest of you, Disarming Charms only. On the count of three – one, two, three –'

There was a rush as people ran back to their partners, and the room was suddenly full of shouts of _Expelliarmus_. Wands flew in all directions, and as Harry walked around, he almost got hit several times, and not only by wands. Some spells were hitting the bookshelves, and several books were leaping off the shelves around him. Fortunately the dark detectors were on the other side of the room, because a couple of them were hit by stray spells, and were lifted off their table, crashing to the floor around the students.

After a few minutes of mayhem, during which Harry paced up and down the room looking for the most competent students, he tried to stop them.

'OK, stop!' He shouted. '_Stop! STOP!_'

Remembering his first session nearly two years ago, he thought about needing a whistle. He spotted one lying on a bookshelf immediately, and picking it up, blew into it hard. Everyone lowered their wands.

'Right, there was some very poor spell work there, but don't worry, you're here to improve. No one is absolutely perfect, there's always room to improve, so don't worry about which group I'm going to put you in, you can be moved if you improve.'

He noticed that several people looked worried, and were eyeing people around themselves, comparing each other. He sighed, but started going around the room, dividing people into two groups. When he finished, he looked at the two smaller groups, counting heads '_sixteen and twenty-six, well that's not too bad, I can deal with that'_.

'Right,' he said, clapping his hands, 'you,' he pointed at the smaller group, 'are the advanced group. As most of you were in the original DA, I want you to practice all the spells you learnt last time together and anything new you learnt last year. Hermione, could you help the new members learn any spells they don't know? I just want a review this session, ok?' Hermione and the rest of the advanced group nodded, and headed off to the other end of the room.

Harry turned back to the larger group.

'OK, quite a bit of your spell work and style was poor, so we're going to practice more with disarming. I'm going to go round and try and help everyone out, all right?' There were several nods, and Harry smiled, 'Now, partner up again.'

There was a bit of jostling around, but soon everyone had a partner, and Harry quickly had them practising again. He walked around the group, stopping here and there to make suggestions. Slowly, the general performance of the group improved, especially from the Third Years, who were eager to prove that they were capable.

He continued moving among the pairs, catching stray wands, and demonstrating how to present as small a target as possible. As he approached Ackerley, he noticed that every time he tried to disarm his opponent, he waved his wand unnecessarily, giving his partner time to get under his guard.

'No Stuart, stop.' Ackerley jumped in surprise, having not heard Harry approach him. Blushing a bit, he turned to listen to Harry, who motioned to Ackerley's partner to come over and listen too. 'Look, there's no need for the flourishes.' He said bluntly. 'They're a waste of time, and in a duel it could cost you your life.' He ignored Ackerley as his face blanched, and ploughed on. 'To disarm someone, all you need is a small flick, like this.' He demonstrated the motion, 'There's no need for any excessive waving, and it only allows an opponent to get under your guard. Do you understand?' The two students nodded warily, 'Now you try.'

He got Stuart to copy him, and after a few experimental flicks, Stuart nodded, and thanking Harry, turned back to his partner. Harry watched him for a bit longer, and satisfied, moved on to the next pair. Several minutes later, he heard Hermione calling him.

'Hey Harry, have you checked the time?' He looked down at his watch and was surprised to see that it was already five past nine, which meant they needed to return to their Common Rooms, or risk being caught for being out of bounds. He wasn't too worried about being caught by Filch, but did not relish the idea of running into an Auror, or even worse, a patrol of trolls.

He blew his whistle; everyone stopped shouting spells, and while the last few wands clattered to the floor, some of the advanced group, who had been practising Stunning, revived the stunned people lying around on the floor.

'Right, that was quite good, I saw a marked improvement in my group,' he motioned to the larger of the two groups, 'but I don't think this arrangement will work in the future. I think we need to have two separate practice sessions, so that I can help out both groups. How does that sound?' There were several murmurs of agreement around the room. 'OK, how about you,' he motioned again to the larger group, 'come back here at the same time next week?' They all nodded in acceptance, and Harry turned to the smaller group. 'The advanced group can come back here on Wednesday, is that alright?' Most of the group nodded, but Anthony and Terry both shook their heads.

'Sorry Harry,' Terry said, 'but we both have Charms Club, can we make it another day?' Harry nodded, thinking.

'How about Monday?' He asked. There were several nods of agreement, and he smiled. 'In that case, all of you hurry up and get back to your Common Rooms before we all get caught. Let's get going.'

People started hurrying out the room, and soon it was empty, apart from Harry, Ginny and Hermione, who were replacing the books and dark detectors in their place.

'That went really well Harry,' Hermione said, 'I'm surprised no one tried to ask you about what you've done in the past. Do you remember Smith at the Hog's Head?' Harry's face darkened.

'Yeah, I remember,' he said testily, but then brightened, 'didn't Fred and George threaten to poke something in his ear to clean it out?' Ginny giggled.

'I remember that!' She exclaimed. 'They threatened him with that metal thing they found in Zonko's; I never did find out what it was for –' She said reminiscently.

They quickly cleared the rest of the room up in silence, and when they finished, Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map.

'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' he said, touching it with the tip of his wand. Checking carefully for any signs of goblins or Aurors patrolling the seventh floor, he motioned the two girls to follow him out the room. They hurried down the corridor to the Fat Lady's portrait, and whispered '_Leo Rex_' as they approached it. She swung forward, and they clambered in.

They settled into the couches near the fire, and talked about the meeting, and how they could improve it. Several people came up to Harry to thank him for teaching them, turning his ears pink in embarrassment, and Ginny giggled at his look of discomfort. Hermione only smiled indulgently, but could not prevent a small laugh escaping when she saw Luna floating over to them just as Harry was getting up to go to bed.

'I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful lesson this evening Harry, although you should watch out for that Wrackspurt, I felt it zoom past me during the practise.' Ginny had to stuff her fist in her mouth to stop giggling, while Hermione tried to maintain a straight face, which only lasted until Luna drifted off to the girls' staircase.

As soon as she disappeared up the stairs, Hermione collapsed on the floor, while Harry smirked at her. After a few moments, Hermione calmed down a bit and sat back down on the couch, trying desperately to keep a straight face. Harry got up soon after that, and wishing the two girls goodnight, climbed up to his dormitory, thinking about the mystery that was Luna Lovegood.


	21. Chivalrous Acts and Rewards

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY ONE –

_**Chivalrous Acts and Rewards**_

'Harry, wake up! I think I've found something!'

Harry's eyes flew open, and he straightened himself quickly in his chair, wiping his eyes hurriedly.

'What is it Hermione?' He looked up at her, and noticed that she was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement. '_Whatever it is, I hope it's more important than last time._'

They'd been in the Library for hours, sifting through old records of old pure-blood families, looking for any hint of an artefact belonging to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Every time Harry drifted off to sleep, or so it seemed, Hermione would find some new possibility, only to realise that it had been lost or damaged long before Voldemort's lifetime.

Hermione didn't seem deterred by his impatient tone, and ploughed into a long history of Ravenclaw's dressing habits, showing him designs for dresses that she's apparently worn to this ball or that wedding. '_How in Merlin's name could this possibly be relevant?_' Harry thought sleepily, not taking in a word she said. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and go back to sleep, which Hermione had been denying him for weeks; apparently she didn't need sleep or a break from research. This was a constant source of irritation for Harry, as she still managed to keep ahead of their ever increasing load of homework and complete all her Head Girl duties, while he had almost given up trying to keep up with the workload.

'Hermione, can we stop for the night?' Harry pleaded. 'I still need to write that essay for Tonks on the Animatus Conjuring Spell.' Hermione looked positively affronted by his interruption.

'Harry, have you listened to anything I just said?' Harry felt his cheeks heat up, and shook his head. Hermione turned away from him for a moment, and clenched her hand a few times, muttering something under her breath. All Harry heard was '… ingrate … just … down … two … five … seven …', but he wisely chose not to open his mouth, and a few moments later, she turned back to him.

'Harry, I think I've found an object that looks very promising.' She said calmly, sitting down before him and placing a heavy volume in his lap. Harry looked down; disbelief etched in his every feature. The book was titled, '_In and out of Fashion for a Millennium_'.

'Hermione, wha -'

'At least give me a chance to explain.' She cut in curtly. 'If you'd listened the first time, you'd understand.' Harry shut his mouth, and sat back in his chair, waiting for an explanation to something which seemed totally outlandish; well to him at least. Hermione took a deep breath, before launching into her explanation.

'Did you know that Rowena Ravenclaw was well known for her intelligence and creativity?' Harry nodded uncertainly, not knowing where she was going. 'Well, she was also famous for her beauty, and was constantly being invited to balls as the guest of honour. In March 1026, she was invited by Sebastian of Besançon to a ball in Burgundy to celebrate his capture of a Griffin, which he wanted to train to guard his treasury. At some point during the ball, Ravenclaw decided to go outside, probably to cool down, and while wandering the grounds with her escort, she was attacked by a Graphorn. Her escort managed to draw it away from her, and eventually killed it, although he was gravely wounded in the process.' Hermione had a dreamy look on her face, as if she hoped that someone would do the same for her.

Harry still couldn't guess where the history lesson was going, but refrained from interrupting, as Hermione now had a triumphant look on her face. He was sure she was about to reveal a huge secret, and he wasn't disappointed, when a few seconds later, she almost squealed in excitement.

'And in gratitude guess what she did?' Not waiting for an answer she pressed on. 'She gave him her brooch which she'd been wearing to the ball. It was her favourite ornament, and had her family crest engraved on the back; and you won't believe what he did with it! He gave it to his wife, and ever since, his family has kept it as a family heirloom for every eldest son to give to their wife!'

Harry sat there stunned for a few moments, unable to comprehend the significance of the discovery. '_This could be it,_' he thought in wonder, after all, they'd combed through most of the Library and this was the first even remotely possible relic. Everything else they'd found had disappeared centuries ago. Suddenly, Harry jumped up and threw his arms around Hermione.

'You did it! You did it!' He cried in excitement, while she blushed crimson in his arms and laughed happily. Madam Pince hissed at them to keep quiet, but it didn't prevent Harry from whispering excitedly, 'We have to tell Ron!' before realising his mistake.

Hermione was still taking Ron's estrangement very badly, and whenever his name was mentioned in her presence, or she saw him, she would either burst into tears or run off.

In response to his outburst, Hermione stopped laughing and pushed Harry away, picking up her bag and rushing out of the Library. Ignoring Madam Pince's cries of indignation, Harry ran after Hermione, leaving the books spread out on one of the tables. Catching up with her in front of the bathrooms, he spun her around and was momentarily struck silent by her red, swollen eyes.

'Hermione, I'm so sorry. I don't know what made me bring him up; I guess I just got caught up in the moment.' He said, dropping his arms uselessly to his sides. Hermione sniffed and made for the bathroom door again, but Harry stopped her again. 'Before you go in, I just wanted to thank you. I wouldn't have ever found that out on my own. You do know you're brilliant don't you?' Hermione hiccupped and nodded sadly. 'Sometimes I just don't know what I'd do without you, so – thank you.' He pulled her into another hug, but she barely responded, and when he let go, hurried into the bathroom. Just as he was about to turn towards the Common Room, Hermione opened the door again and called after him.

'By the way Harry, I almost forgot. Can you see if you can find the descendants of Ravenclaw's escort? He was called Hengist Meadowes.' Harry nodded, and she closed the door again. He looked at the door for a few minutes, and then headed back towards the Library, where Madam Pince made him put away all the books they had taken out.

By the time he'd finished though, it was almost nine o'clock, and Madam Pince ushered him out despite his protests. He headed back towards the Common Room in a foul mood, but as he was turning onto the seventh floor corridor, he ran into Tonks.

'Wotcher, Harry. How are you doing?'

'I'm alright,' he grumbled.

'Really? You could have fooled me; you look like you've just received a detention. You haven't run into Filch have you?' Harry grinned despite his bad temper.

'No, it's nothing like that. I was trying to do some research and Madam Pince threw me out before I could finish.'

'Ah, I can see how that might be irritating, she did that to me a fair few times when I was here.' Tonks stared into space, a look of recollection on her face. Harry stood there, waiting for her to return to the present, shifting from foot to foot. 'Speaking of research, have you written the essay I set you?' she looked at him piercingly.

'Err, no yet, I've been a bit busy recently. I was going to write it over the weekend.' He replied, his ears heating up a bit.

'Well make sure you get it done Harry, I'd hate to have to give you a detention, although it could be fun. I haven't had to make up a chore in quite a while -' she trailed off, pretending to be in deep thought. Harry grinned.

'Don't worry _Professor_; I'll have it done by Tuesday.' Tonks laughed merrily at his teasing and walked with him back to the Common Room.

'So what was this crucial research that Madam Pince interrupted? Are you trying to find a cure for scrofungulus?' She joked. Harry hesitated.

He was loath to lie to Tonks, who he liked a lot, but he wasn't sure how much he could risk telling her. After all, Dumbledore had insisted on absolute secrecy, apart from Hermione and Ron of course.

'No, nothing that revolutionary. Hermione was looking into the history of Hogwarts and the founders, you know how she is. Anyway, she came across a pretty amazing story where Rowena Ravenclaw was saved from a Graphorn, and Hermione was completely star struck by the chivalrous saviour.' He chuckled in recollection of her expression. 'So she tried to find out his name, and recognised the family name, but couldn't remember where she'd seen it before. So she asked me to help her find it.' He finished a bit lamely.

He knew he couldn't tell her the whole truth, and so settled for a half truth. '_Anyway, maybe Tonks has heard of the descendants_' he thought hopefully. He wasn't looking forward to spending any more time in the Library, and was prepared to risk almost anything to avoid spending another few weeks looking for a descendant who may not even exist.

'So what's the name?' Tonks asked after a long pause.

'Meadowes, I think.'

'Umm, she's right. That name does sound rather familiar. I wonder where I've heard it before.' She mused. They walked in silence as they thought about the elusive surname.

A few moments later, they arrived before the Fat Lady's portrait.

'Well thanks for escorting me Tonks; though I'm sure I could have made it to the end of the corridor by myself without ending up in the Hospital Wing.' Harry joked.

'That's _Professor_ to you, Mr. Potter,' she retorted, 'and we needn't take any risks with you. After all, how many people take the Hogwarts Express and end up stuck on it, bound and with a broken nose?' Harry grimaced.

'You just had to bring that up didn't you?'

'Yes, now get in there before the trolls come and decide to use you for clubbing practise.'

Harry laughed, but didn't bother replying. Climbing through the portrait hole, he waved back to her.

The following Tuesday at the end of his Transfiguration lesson, Harry hung back to talk to Tonks. He and Hermione had had little luck with their research since finding out about the brooch. There weren't many records that mentioned the Meadowes, and the family seemed to have vanished during the Black Plague; but Harry had insisted that they hadn't died out.

Hermione persistently asked him why he thought the family still existed, but he couldn't answer. It was just an irritating thought at the back of his mind that kept telling him that he'd heard of them; and although he hadn't told Hermione about his conversation with Tonks, if she had heard of them too, then it couldn't just be a figment of his imagination.

He wasn't sure why he hadn't told Hermione about his conversation with Tonks, but he felt that she'd say that if he could trust Tonks enough to tell her, he should tell Ginny. But Harry knew that if he told Ginny part of it, he'd end up telling her everything, and he knew with absolute certainty that she'd want to go with them, and that was something he couldn't allow.

Waiting until the room had emptied, he walked over to Tonks, who was tidying the pile of essays that the class had handed in.

'Tonks, I was wondering if you'd remembered where you heard of the Meadowes', because Hermione and I haven't found anything yet.' Tonks looked up and frowned for a moment before her face broke into a grin.

'No, but I asked Remus when I saw him over the weekend.' She blushed a bit at this, but Harry chose to ignore the insinuation; if Remus knew a Meadowes, Harry didn't care _what_ he did at the weekend. 'Anyway,' she pushed on, 'apparently there was a Dorcas Meadowes in the Original Order, but she never married and didn't have any children, so she was the last one.' Harry had a vague memory of a conversation with Moody at Headquarters, but couldn't really remember what it was about.

'Did he know what happened to her?' Harry asked hesitantly. Something about the way Tonks had said that she _was_ in the Order struck Harry as unusual, and he doubted that he truly wanted to find out. Tonks grimaced.

'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed her personally, poor thing. She never stood a chance. Apparently he showed up at her home, murdered her, and then apparated to Hogsmeade with a large group of Death Eaters and proceeded to kill anyone that didn't Apparate away. That was one of the worst massacres of the First War.' She shivered. 'I was really young when that happened, but I still vaguely remember my mum talking about it. It was all over the Prophet for weeks afterwards, about the Ministry trying to fix the damage, heal the wounded, find the dead. It was horrible.'

Harry barely took in what she was saying though. Dorcas had been the last Meadowes, and Voldemort had killed her personally just before one of the worst massacres of the war. All the evidence pointed towards the possibility that the brooch still existed and had been used as a Horcrux. Hadn't Dumbledore said that Voldemort reserved the process of making Horcruxes for particularly important deaths? Surely that massacre would count? The only problem was that Hermione had said that it was handed down to the eldest son for their wife, but surely, Harry reasoned with himself, if she had been her parents' only child she would have inherited it. Well, he thought so anyway.

All of a sudden, a voice penetrated his thoughts.

'Harry, are you alright?' Snapping out of his musings, he focused on Tonks, who was watching him suspiciously.

'Yeah, I'm fine thanks; I just switched off for a second there.' He mumbled, blushing a bit. Tonks laughed.

'It was a bit more than a second Harry; you were phased out for almost a minute. Speaking of which,' she said, frowning and looking at her watch, 'shouldn't you be at dinner? You're teaching the larger group today aren't you?' Harry nodded, the DA classes had been going well, the group had improved in leaps and bounds, and Harry had already sent a few of the better students to the advanced group. 'Well you'll be needing your food then, they're a difficult group to teach. Now, off you go!' Harry grinned, and hurried out the room, Tonks never believed him when he told her that he enjoyed teaching the DA.

She didn't particularly like teaching, preferring to be out on active duty, and had only agreed to teach because she'd been ordered to. The main reason was to help protect Hogwarts, although the fact that McGonagall needed someone to teach Transfiguration instead of her helped convince the Aurors too.

Harry found Hermione and Ginny talking quietly over their dinner, and rushed over to join them. Hermione asked him where he'd gone as soon as he sat down, but he just told her that he'd tell her later, not wanting to divulge anything in such a public space.

After dinner, Harry literally dragged Hermione up to his dormitory, and sealing the door behind him, recounted the story Tonks had told him. Hermione sat back on his bed, and bit her lip anxiously.

'I'm not sure about this Harry; it does seem like a strong possibility, but surely if the Meadowes' didn't have a son that generation, it would have been kept in a vault or something to be given to the next eldest son. They wouldn't have broken tradition just because they didn't have a son that generation, we're talking about an ancient wizarding family after all -' she mused. Harry paced impatiently before her.

'But surely all the evidence points towards it Hermione, Voldemort went to her home and murdered her, and then goes off and massacres half of Hogsmeade. Why would he bother going to kill her first if it wasn't to get Ravenclaw's brooch?'

'Well, he could have thought the same thing as us and gone to find it -'

Harry sat down on the bed next to her, looking at her pleadingly. 'Come on Hermione, we've been looking for weeks, and nothing has come anywhere near as close to being as promising. What else could Ravenclaw have left behind? Unless of course, if she made a habit of being saved by chivalrous wizards.' He added, grinning suggestively.

Hermione smiled softly and shook her head.

'No Harry, I think you're right. This has to be the Horcrux. After all, there's only one known relic of Gryffindor's, how many of Ravenclaw's possessions could possibly still exist?' She asked rhetorically. Harry smiled, and stood up.

'Well if that's settled, all we have to do is find where he would have put it, but right now, I'm late for my DA class. See you later Hermione.' He unsealed the door, and was about to open it, when Hermione called after him.

'Harry, where did you find out about Meadowes' story? I don't remember it being in any of the records we looked through, did you have a look through the school records without me?' Harry turned back to her and looked at his feet, mumbling something incoherently. 'Sorry, I didn't hear you,' she said, leaning forward, 'what was that?' Suddenly, a flash of inspiration passed through Harry, and he looked up.

'I thought I'd heard of the name before, but I couldn't place it until yesterday. I remember Moody showing me a picture of the Original Order a few years ago, and he mentioned a Meadowes' being a member, so I owled him, and I got the reply today.'

Hermione frowned, 'I don't remember Hedwig arriving this morning -' Harry panicked for a second.

'Oh yeah, she arrived after breakfast while you were in Herbology.' He replied quickly. Hermione eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but relaxed, and picking up her bag, made for the door.

'Come on Harry, you should be in your class, and I need to go speak to Professor McGonagall about the prefect patrols. They're all complaining that the patrols are too long and time consuming, and they are right, really. I'm barely keeping up with all the homework we're getting.'

They continued discussing the unfair lengths of time which prefect duties took up while they made their way down to the Common Room, but quickly parted ways outside the Fat Lady. Harry watched as Hermione hurried off towards McGonagall's office, waiting until she was out of sight before running down the corridor to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, where his students were waiting for him impatiently.


	22. Down Memory Lane

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY TWO –

_**Down Memory Lane**_

'Today we're going to be learning the Protean Charm,' Professor Flitwick squeaked from the top of his pile of books, 'does anyone know what it does?'

Harry automatically leaned away from Hermione as her hand shot into the air and waited for her to answer.

'Yes, Ms. Granger?'

'The Protean Charm connects several objects together so that if the shape of one were to be changed, all the others would be similarly changed, however far apart they were.'

'Very good Ms. Granger and does anyone know the incantation?' Hermione's hand shot back up into the air.

'_Onis Muto_ and the wand movement is this -' she pulled out her wand and demonstrated for the class.

'Well done Ms. Granger. Now, I'd like you all to try to cast this charm on the two pins in front of you, and then try bending one -' Harry's attention drifted away from the diminutive professor as he thought about the possible locations for Voldemort's Horcruxes.

Nothing he'd learnt last year with Dumbledore seemed to give him clues, the only possibility being his old orphanage. Harry doubted though that Voldemort would hide part of his soul in a Muggle orphanage, especially as any curses on it could be triggered by a child there, alerting the Ministry of Magic of its existence.

Hermione and he had been looking through the school records and old Daily Prophet articles for almost a week, searching for important events of the First War. Perhaps Voldemort had hidden them where he'd defeated a particularly important wizard or witch -

'_No,_' he thought, '_Voldemort used the cave and the Gaunt home. He'll have used isolated places which would relate to his ancestry or his own history._' Somewhere from the First War would be too obvious and too well documented for Voldemort. Few people would have known enough about his childhood to know about the Gaunt home, or the cave. '_Which brings me back to who RAB could be._' He thought glumly.

Hermione, Ron and he had spent hours at the end of last year, and a large part of the summer, trying to find out which wizards and witches in the last fifty years had had those initials, and there were very few names that matched them. The main problem though, was that none of the people they'd found fitted the description, '_although Sirius' brother was a strong possibility, apart from for the fact that he didn't seem like a powerful enough wizard._' Hermione had eliminated him as a potential candidate almost as soon as they'd found him, insisting that if Dumbledore had been weakened by the potion, and had lost his arm to the other Horcrux, only a very powerful wizard or witch could have already removed it. Regulus Arcturus Black apparently didn't fit into that category.

He was disturbed from his musings by Hermione's insistent hissing, reminding him that they had to work on the charm together. Harry pulled out his wand, and watched Hermione as she performed the charm, paying close attention to her wand's motion. As Hermione cast the charm on each pin, they glowed a soft blue for a moment before returning to normal. Hermione took one pin in her hand, and bent it confidently. Harry watched, unfazed, as the other pin lying on the bench bent too.

Flitwick chose that moment to pass by them, and as he saw Hermione's pins bend together, squeaked in pleasure.

'Oh, well done Ms. Granger!' He cried as Hermione smiled happily. 'Now let me see you try Mr. Potter.'

Hermione bent the pin in her hand back into shape, lifted the charm, and placed the two pins in front of Harry. He gulped, raised his wand nervously, and concentrated as hard as he could on the incantation. Waving his wand in a pattern vaguely resembling Hermione's attempt, he pointed at the first pin. It glowed a dark shade of blue, but Flitwick didn't say anything; heartened, Harry repeated the charm on the second pin. Instead of glowing blue, the second pin flew to the first pin, and they fused together. Hermione groaned quietly, and Flitwick frowned, separating the pins with a flick of his wand.

'Mr. Potter,' he said, 'I expect you to practice this charm for homework.'

As Harry and Hermione made their way back up to their rooms to drop off their bags, Hermione tried to demonstrate the proper wand movement for him, but try as he might, Harry couldn't replicate it. All he could think about was RAB's identity, and how he was ever going to find the missing Horcruxes' locations.

'Look Hermione, I can't do it, ok?' Harry groaned as they stepped into the common room. Hermione looked affronted, and was about to interrupt, but he pressed on. 'I don't know what it is, but I just can't do it, I'm trying, you just watched me try. I don't know what's wrong, but I can't get the wand movement.'

'Harry, if you just concentrate, it'll come with practice. All you need is to work at it, and try and _focus_.'

'I _can't_ focus Hermione!' Harry cried out in frustration. 'It's too much, to deal with Voldemort, and work and everything else. I just can't do it. I can't just block one thing out so that I can think about the other.' He didn't care that a crowd of curious students was forming around them. 'Do you know what I'm thinking about?' Hermione shook her head unsteadily, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears, but Harry didn't care anymore. 'Right now, I'm wondering if we're ever going to find out who RAB was, or if we're going to find that brooch, or if I'm even going to be alive at the end of this year!' There was a sharp intake of breathe around the whole room, but Harry didn't notice. 'And you want me to worry about managing to perform a charm?' He added in a whisper. 'Sometimes I wonder if you've got your priorities right, because to me, failing an exam doesn't compare to dieing.'

Leaving a very pale and heartbroken Hermione, Harry stormed up the stairs to his room and upon reaching his trunk, threw his books into it in frustration. He was about to grab his Invisibility Cloak and take a walk, when he heard a ripping sound.

Looking down at his trunk, he saw that one of the books he'd dropped in had knocked another off a pile. This book in turn had dragged half of a roll of parchment along with it, leaving the rest of it wedged under another book. Harry frowned, he didn't recognise the parchment, and leant in to pick the two sections up. As soon as he collected the parts though, he recognised it for what it was, each piece was in fact three, sandwiched together, and one part had a seal on it; the letter he'd received at Gringotts. With everything that had happened since receiving it, he'd completely forgotten about it.

He placed the two sections together, and flicked his wand at it. They jump back together, and he eagerly ripped the back of the envelope open, his sour mood vanishing to be replaced by curiosity, but as he pulled the letter out, his face blanched in shock. He recognised the messy scrawl immediately; it had belonged to Sirius. He leapt up from the floor, and sat back on his bed, his hands shaking as he began reading.

_Dear Harry,_

_If you're reading this, it meant that I didn't make it till your seventeenth birthday, although, if that is the case, I hope I went down fighting. I know you, more than anyone, know how frustrating it is to be cooped up and unable to help the Order. Whatever idiotic thing I did that led to my demise; I hope it was either helping you or Dumbledore out, because to be honest kiddo, you'll probably need it! Look, I'm not going to lecture you on how to behave in what in all honesty is my last letter to you, as it'll probably have no effect. I know you don't go looking for trouble, just, be careful alright? I'd hate to be around you and your parents if you showed up wherever I've gone to early. Anyway, behaviour-wise we both know just how poor a role model I'd be for you, well in Molly's view anyway!_

_The purpose of this letter is twofold. Firstly, if you don't already know, I'm leaving you everything I currently own in the case of my death (which has clearly happened if you're reading this), including Headquarters. I know that you probably won't want to set foot in there for a while, but when you do, I hope you continue with the redecorating which I've already started. I think the colour scheme could do with a make over, don't you? Anyway, I'm diverging. I've left you everything, although to be honest, I'm not entirely sure of what 'everything' is. You'll have to go have a look in my vault (number seven hundred and eleven) to check out what's in there, as I haven't had the, shall we say, opportunity to visit in quite a while. I'd watch out when I went in if I were you though; I don't know what my dear old mum will have left in there since my incarceration._

_The second purpose of this letter is more of a favour I need to ask of you. Please could you help Remus out financially using some of what I left you? I wanted to leave him something, but I know that he would have refused it and given it to you anyway, so I saved him the trouble. Just make sure the old wolf gets a new set of clothes every so often alright? I know you'll do it, though I don't want you spending everything I leave on him, you understand Harry? I knew you're father, and if you're anything like James, you'll give everything to Remus. I don't want you to, I know you'll be inheriting you're family vaults when you collect this letter, but this is my gift to you, for not having been there for you when you grew up. I cannot begin to express just how sorry I am that I landed myself in Azkaban before you even got a chance to know me. I wanted to look after you so much, and every second I spent stuck in a cell, thinking about how you'd be growing up among Muggles, killed me._

_I want you to have the money Harry, as my gift, although I do have an ulterior motive. Imagine my dear mum's reaction when she finds out who I've left her family's fortune to, I just wish I could be there to see it! Anyway, this is goodbye, and I hope that we do not meet again for a good long time. The best of luck in everything that you endeavour, _

_Your faithful mutt,_

_Snuffles _

Harry sat there, a single tear making its way down his cheek. When he reached the end, he hiccoughed in dejected amusement. '_Trust Sirius to make a joke of his own death._' He thought miserably. Placing the letter down delicately, he lay down and took a few deep breathes. He knew he was over Sirius' death, but it still ached, and try as he might, he couldn't escape the feeling that he had led Sirius to the death he had been trying to prevent. It was a cruel irony, he thought, but there was nothing he could do about it anymore, and so it could do no good to dwell on it. '_Well not until I've defeated Voldemort anyway_.' He folded the letter back up and after placing it back in his trunk, he left to find and apologise to Hermione.

The next few days saw a reform in Harry's attitude. He still worked hard at his classes, both at NEWT level and with Moody, and taught his DA lessons with the same enthusiasm as before, but it was as if a candle had been lit in his head. It was Ginny who noticed it first; when on one of their regular walks around the lake, Harry began talking about the possibility of having a foreseeable future. Harry had never liked to talk about what he'd do as an adult, and it hadn't been difficult for Ginny and Hermione to deduce that Harry had a deep seated fear that he wouldn't survive his next encounter with Voldemort, even before his outburst in the common room. This fear, had hampered his ability to learn, as however much he wanted to learn on a conscious level, sub-consciously he didn't see the point as he thought he was going to die anyway.

But all of a sudden, Harry's mental block seemed to vanish, and Harry began picking up spells as fast as Hermione, if not faster. They still worked together, although their conversations were a bit strained, and Ginny often had to try and bridge the gap between the two of them; but that didn't prevent their research, if anything it fuelled it. With Harry picking up spells faster and so not having to spend time working on them out of class, and Ginny being almost permanently in their company, they were able to search through an even greater number of texts and old _Prophet_ articles, but still they found nothing.

It was late October and fast approaching the first Hogsmeade trip of the year, and even Hermione's blind faith in the Library's resources was beginning to falter. They had spent every free moment they'd had had for almost a fortnight sifting through old records looking for even the slightest mention of Voldemort or Tom Riddle, but nothing seemed to fit. Ginny and Harry had all but given up, and it was Hermione was could often be found dragging them back to the Library after a hurried dinner, much to their annoyance.

They were no longer getting any time alone, and it was beginning to show in their strained relationship. Harry had promised Ginny that they wouldn't spend a single moment of the weekend in the Library, and that he'd even try to drag Hermione out, but Hermione had only huffed and stonily replied that someone should be taking their research seriously. Ginny had giggled and told Harry to leave her be, so on Saturday morning, Harry could be found in his room dressing very carefully.

As he was pulling his cleanest shirt out his trunk, he noticed a patch of silvery light, glimmering on his Broomstick Servicing Kit case, pulling a dirty set of robes out of the way, Harry leaned over to see what was the origin of the peculiar light. Lifting a rather heavy textbook, his breathe hitched. Lying in the bottom of his trunk was Dumbledore's Pensieve.

Harry was torn between looking at the memories in it now, and waiting until after his trip to Hogsmeade, knowing that Ginny would be upset and more than a little angry with him if he didn't go. On the other hand, the shallow stone basin lying before him could hold the answers to a lot of his problems, and he was loath to leave it. Checking the time, he decided that he had enough time to look at least at one memory, which might give him an idea of what other memories could be in the Pensieve.

Not wanting to get stuff in Dumbledore's memories, Harry prodded the thoughts swirling around the basin hesitantly with his wand. Instantly, a figure rose out of it, a very familiar figure, which began to revolve slowly, with his feet still in the basin. His voice echoed through the room, but there was still a hint of life in it, and Harry fought to regain control of his emotions as the memory of Dumbledore began to speak.

'Harry, if you are listening to this recording, you must have read my letter, so I will try not to repeat myself too much. I have left you my Pensieve to help you, and I hope that some of the memories you find within will help you find the remaining Horcruxes. I will not keep you from them too long, just enough to quickly explain the contents. Most of these memories are from when Tom was a student at Hogwarts, I have placed in the Pensieve every memory I can remember of him during that time, whether it be from lessons, discussions with his other teachers, or conversations with him. I have also added memories relating to his absence from Britain and rise to power, most of these are speculative conversations with members of the original Order, so do not trust everything you hear to be fact. It was nearly impossible to know exactly what Tom had been up to in that period, so very few of these memories contain solid evidence. However, I have also added my memories of any confrontations I had with him, so that you can study his duelling style and learn from it. Show these to Alastor Moody if you like, he may be able to help you adjust to them. Finally, as you've probably been sitting impatiently for, I have added my memory of the day I took the Slytherin ring. I only wish I will live long enough to recount it myself, for was a truly remarkable event, and I do not believe a simple memory could ever do it justice. That is all I have to say for now, so good luck searching for Horcruxes, I am sure you will perform admirably, and I have every confidence that you will defeat Tom, good luck Harry.'

Dumbledore's silent figure continued to revolve, until Harry prodded the basin again, and he sank away, becoming silvery and opaque again. Gently placing the Pensieve back in his trunk, Harry then hastened to throw his clothes back over it to hide it. He closed the trunk lid, and added a few locking spells, before making his way down to the common room, where he waited for Ginny to finish getting dressed.

* * *

A/N - I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write, I've been very busy recently, but hopefully, I'll be able to start writing again. I felt a bit rusty while writing this one, so if there's anything that doesn't sound right, or just feels wrong, please tell me, because I know this one wasn't really up to par with the rest of the story. 


	23. Riddled with Memories

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY THREE –

_**Riddled With Memories**_

As Harry and Ginny made their way down to Hogsmeade, he recounted his discovery of the Pensieve's contents and Dumbledore's last message. They continued walking in silence for a few moments, before Ginny turned to him and smirked.

'I _told_ you there would be something important in there!' She exclaimed smugly. Harry sighed theatrically and groaned.

'Yes, I know. You were and always are right, happy now?'

'Very!' She announced happily. They continued walking in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, both deep in thought, when Harry broke the silence.

'So where would you like to go first, anything you need in particular?' He asked.

'Hmm no, I don't think so. Fred and George don't have a branch in Hogsmeade, so apart from getting some Butterbeers,' she rubbed her hands together vigorously, 'I'm not going to insist on going anywhere today. How about you, do you need anything?' Harry thought for a moment, and something Sirius had written came to mind.

'Well yes, it's not for me, but I need to buy a set of robes. Sirius asked me to get them for Remus.' Ginny looked at him sharply for a moment, before nodding.

'Alright, well we can do that before going to the Three Broomsticks, might as well get that done first.' Harry nodded, and slipped her hand into his, interlacing their fingers together. Ginny beamed at him, and snuggled into his side as they rounded the path's corner, and Hogsmeade came into view.

* * *

Upon Harry's return, his first port of call was the Library, where he was certain that he would find Hermione, knee deep in homework or research. Approaching her silently, he covered her eyes.

'Guess who!' He whispered in his best imitation of Hagrid. Startled, Hermione jumped about a foot, dropping the book she was reading on the floor. Madam Pince glared at Harry, but he didn't release Hermione.

'Harry, get off me!' Hermione snapped in an angry whisper. Harry let go and dropped into the seat opposite her, disgruntled.

'How did you know it was me?' He asked grumpily. Hermione looked at him as him he'd grown a third head.

'Harry, pick someone closer to you in size next time! Hagrid's hands would have enveloped my whole head. Anyway, you said you'd find me when you got back from Hogsmeade,' she paused, 'how was it incidentally?' Harry leaned back into his seat, a huge smile plastered on his face.

'It was amazing Hermione, you should have come. We walked around the shops for a while, I bought and posted a new set of robes for Remus, we stopped over at the Three Broomsticks, and went to the Shrieking Shack and err,' he paused, his face reddening, 'had a look around inside.' He added quickly. Hermione gave him a knowing look.

'It doesn't look like I would have enjoyed the day quite as much as you two.' She said pointedly, while Harry blushed even harder.

'Yeah, well, err. The reason I needed to find you is,' he hesitated, trying to compose his face, which still had a grin plastered on it, 'I found something in my trunk this morning.' Hermione didn't look up from the book she'd picked up and resumed reading. 'I found something _important_.'

Hermione looked up at him in bemusement, and then a look of understanding crossed her face.

'What, you mean to do with the -' Harry nodded frantically and clamped his hand over her mouth.

'Not here!' He mouthed. She nodded, and pulled his hand from her mouth.

'Ok, let me just put these books away, I didn't find anything useful in them anyway.' She stood up, and floated the books back to their shelves, while Harry went to wait for her at the exit. As he left the desk Hermione had been working at, he heard the swish of a cloak that came from the bookshelf behind him.

Spinning around and approaching the row of shelves, he whispered '_Lumos_', and held his hand high above his head. He found nothing when he reached the end of the bookshelves, but as he turned back towards the Library exit, he thought he saw a pair of long, slanting eyes staring at him before they too disappeared in the gloom.

* * *

When Hermione finally joined him, he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her back to his dormitory, where he pushed her onto his bed and proceeded to explain his discovery of the Pensieve's contents while lifting all the locking spells on his trunk. Hermione was mildly annoyed that he hadn't told her before he left for Hogsmeade, to save her time if nothing else, but was too excited to be really angry at him.

Harry finished removing the spells, and pulled the Pensieve out, placing it gently on his chest of drawers, before prodding it gently with his wand. The memory of Dumbledore rose again, spinning slowly as it recited its message.

When it was finished, Harry prodded the Pensieve again and turned to Hermione.

'So, what do you think?' Hermione gave him a piercing stare before replying.

'I think you should have looked at this a long time ago Harry,' she said slowly, 'it might have saved us a lot of fruitless searching.' Harry hung his head.

'I know that, I just couldn't bring myself to. It would have –' he took a deep breath, 'made his death more real, more final.' Hermione looked at him, an aggrieved look on her face while his thoughts raged around his head.

'I'm sorry Harry, I shouldn't have said that.' She got up and put a hand on his shoulder. 'Come on, let's go find Ginny, it is after all the weekend, you need a break.' Harry shook his head.

'No, I want to look at some of these memories now. I told Ginny about them, she'll understand.'

Hermione looked like she was about to argue with him, but he'd already started swirling the memories around, and it didn't take long for her own curiosity got the better of her. She sat down, and waited while Harry inspected the memories carefully.

'This looks like an interesting one, let's have a look. Do you want to go first?' Hermione nodded eagerly and taking a deep breath, she plunged into the Pensieve head first. Harry followed her immediately, and when he landed, he found her looking around eagerly. He could almost hear her brain whirring around as it processed the differences between modern-day Hogwarts and it's counterpart of fifty years ago.

Harry looked around himself, and realised that they must be in one of Dumbledore's Transfiguration lessons. His heart ached as he watched a much younger Albus Dumbledore lecturing the class on the correct wand movement needed to change a hedgehog into a pincushion. He turned to the class, and quickly found Tom Riddle sitting in the front row. He wasn't much younger than when Harry had seen his memory, and Harry guessed that Riddle had to be around fourteen or fifteen.

He called Hermione over, and they observed Riddle as he practised the transfiguration, which he managed to accomplish on his second try. After having shown his pincushion to Dumbledore and earning Slytherin five points, he started scrawling notes on a spare scrap of parchment. Harry leaned over Riddle's shoulder to read what he was writing, but he'd barely got a glance when Dumbledore asked Riddle why he was doodling in his class.

Riddle hastily wiped the parchment blank and apologised, saying that he'd already successfully managed to perform the transfiguration and didn't have anything else to do. Dumbledore gave Riddle a penetrating stare for a short moment, before nodding and suggesting that he help out his classmates who hadn't managed the transfiguration yet. Riddle immediately turned to the student sitting next him and started showing him the right wand movement, but as soon as he thought Dumbledore wasn't looking, Riddle threw him a glare of pure loathing, and his eyes gleamed red for a second.

The boy sitting next to Riddle seemed unnerved for a moment, but quickly regained his senses and listened to Riddle's instructions with a mixture of fear and awe. The class continued normally for a few more minutes, before the memory ended and Harry and Hermione rose up through oblivion and back to Harry's dormitory. Hermione turned to Harry straight away and asked him what Riddle had been writing on the parchment.

'I'm not really sure, he'd only written "Elixir of Life or unicorn blood" before he wiped the sheet clean. Maybe he was already thinking of ways to become immortal, and was making a list of possible methods. I doubt that he'd have heard of Horcruxes by then.'

Hermione thought about that for a while, and then asked if Dumbledore had left any memories of later lessons, maybe from Riddle's seventh year. Harry leaned over the Pensieve for a few minutes, his hands resting on each side of the basin. The mass of memories began to spin faster and faster as Harry frowned in concentration, but they eventually slowed as he looked up and nodded.

'Found one.' He announced. Hermione hurried over and within a couple of seconds they were both falling through oblivion until they landed in the same classroom as they had before.

Harry looked around, and quickly confirmed that this was Riddle's class; he was sitting in the same seat as before, but looked older, and had a Head Boy badge pinned on the front of his robes. Harry glanced out the window and saw a beautiful, sunny day; it was probably summertime and one of the last lessons before the beginning of NEWTs. He turned back to the class, and noticed that Dumbledore was carrying out a revision of all the work the students would need to know for the exam. Riddle looked thoroughly bored and was twirling his wand between his fingers, occasionally performing one of the transfigurations when Dumbledore was watching.

As Harry watched, he noticed that Riddle was slowly enchanting a piece of charcoal to silently scrawl out a message on some parchment under the table when Dumbledore wasn't watching. Harry tried to crawl under the desk to read it, but as he reached it, Riddle banished it. Harry climbed up and looked around, hoping to see someone reading from a scrap of parchment, but could see nothing out of place.

'Hermione, did you notice if anyone just received a scrap of parchment?' He asked her, but she hadn't.

They spent the rest of the lesson prowling the classroom, hoping to find the missing piece of parchment, but it was only at the end of the lesson, that Hermione caught a glimpse of it sticking out of Rodolphus Lestrange's school bag. However, before Harry or Hermione could get to him, the memory ended and the found themselves back in Harry's room. They quickly dived back into the memory to retrieve the message, but all it turned out to be was a message telling Riddle's group of followers to meet him in an abandoned classroom after dinner. '_He was probably planning some kind of attack on a Muggleborn._' Harry thought angrily when he re-emerged from the memory.

As Hermione landed next to him, she checked her watch.

'Merlin's beard Harry, it's already dinner time! Come let's go get Ginny and tell her what we found.' Harry hurriedly placed the Pensieve back in his trunk and cast a few locking spells on it before they rushed down to the Common Room to find Ginny playing a game of Wizard's Chess with Colin Creevey.

They didn't have to wait long though, within a couple of minutes, Ginny had taken his Queen and it was only a few more moves before she checkmated him.

'Damn it Ginny,' Colin moaned, 'do you have to win every time?' Harry and Hermione shared a small smile; Ron's prowess on the chessboard had elicited a similar reaction from them many a time. Ginny smiled sweetly in reply, but before she could open her mouth, Harry put a hand on her shoulder.

'Do you two want to come down to dinner with us?' He asked. 'We were on our way down.' Ginny jumped up and slipped her arm around his and practically dragged him towards the portrait hole, leaving Hermione and Colin to try and catch up. 'Umm Ginny, what are you doing?'

'If we finish dinner quickly, we can continue our _conversation_ we were having this morning.' Harry frowned, and asked her what she was talking about.

'You know Harry, the one we were having in the Shrieking Shack.' She replied innocently. Harry blushed scarlet and Hermione, who had caught up by then, sniggered into her hand. Colin looked like he'd been petrified all over again.

'You went _inside_ the Shrieking Shack? Sweet Merlin, you two are brave! I would never have gone in there; don't you know it's the most haunted building in Britain?' Hermione had to stuff her fist in her mouth to stop herself laughing at this, and Harry, who was still scarlet, tried to stutter a response.

'Well, you see –' He started to answer, but Ginny, with a straight face, interrupted him.

'We dared ourselves to go in and find one of the ghosts haunting the place, but when we got in there, there was nothing. No one's heard any noise from the Shrieking Shack in decades, so we reckon the ghosts have left – or there weren't any in the first place and it was all a myth.' Hermione and Harry turned to stare at Ginny, mouths gaping, but Colin didn't notice.

'Really? That's so cool; I think next Hogsmeade weekend I'll go take a few pictures to show my parents. Just imagine "pictures from inside the most haunted building in Britain", thanks Ginny! I'll go write that down now, see you later guys!' He sprinted back the way they'd come as Harry, Hermione and Ginny cracked up, leaning against each other for support.

After they'd calmed down somewhat, they made their way down to the Great Hall, only just making it in time to get desert. They ate in silence, and when they finished, Harry led them to an abandoned classroom. Closing the door behind him, he pulled out his wand and muttered '_Colloportus_' at the door, which made a loud squelching noise, and '_Muffliato_'. Turning back to the girls, he looked at Hermione, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

'Ginny, Hermione and I had a look at some of the memories that Dumbledore left me this afternoon –' he hesitated. Should he tell her? After all, Tom Riddle had assaulted her mind when she was little, and he knew that she still thought about it every so often.

'And?' Ginny prompted eagerly. Harry took a deep breath.

'The ones we saw were of Tom Riddle as a student here.' Ginny's face blanched. No one uttered a sound for what seemed like an eternity, Harry and Hermione waiting for a response from Ginny, who was entrenched in her own memories of Riddle.

Harry eventually tried to prompt a response out of her, but as he began saying, 'Look, you don't need to look –', Ginny replied.

'I think I need to look at the memories.' Harry looked confused for a moment, then countered.

'No, you don't have to, not if it hurts. We'll look without you, and tell you if we find anything.' Ginny shook her head emphatically.

'You don't understand Harry, I _have_ to look at them, they might help me get over my first year, if I can see him as he was at school.' Harry looked at Hermione for support, but she shook her head. Ginny was right. He sighed in resignation.

'Alright, but you are never to go into those memories alone you understand?' Ginny looked like she was about to argue, but he cut her off. 'I don't want you to be alone if you see anything shocking, or that brings back memories of your first year.' Hermione looked surprised at his thoughtfulness; she expected the reason to be in case Ginny stumbled on something related to the Horcruxes. Ginny didn't look entirely surprised, but quickly recovered and giving Harry a glowing smile, she threw her arms around him.

'Right, well I think that's my cue to leave.' Hermione quipped, smirking, but Harry laughed and said.

'Actually, I was thinking of going to the kitchens. Desert alone hardly counts as dinner.' Hermione and Ginny shared a grin, and replied in unison.

'Oh, I wouldn't say that.' Harry laughed, but released the spells on the door and dragged the two giggling girls down to the kitchen.

As they stepped through the portrait, Harry was almost bowled over as a squealing blur of green and maroon crashed into his knees.

'Dobby! How are you?' He exclaimed happily, pulling the excitable house-elf off him. Dobby looked up at him with adoration in his eyes.

'Dobby is well, sir. Dobby is happy to see the great Harry Potter again, sir.' Hermione and Ginny sniggered into the back of their hands. 'Would the miss or Master Harry Potter's Wheezy be needing anything, sir?' This time Harry sniggered at Hermione and Ginny while they blushed and tried to get Dobby to call them by their names.

'We only wanted to get some food Dobby, we missed most of dinner.' Dobby bowed low, his nose almost touching the floor.

'Of course, sir. Dobby will go and fetch you all dinner immediately.' And with that he disappeared into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a basket full of food.

'Thanks Dobby.' Harry said, taking the heavy basket from the small house-elf. Dobby bowed deeply again, before lifting his adoring eyes to meet Harry's.

'You is most welcome, sir. Anything for the great Harry Potter, sir.'

'Anything apart from an order to stop calling me "great Harry Potter" that is.' Harry grumbled under his breath, but Ginny heard him and laughed at his discomfort.

'Come on, Oh Great One. Come and feed your hungry lady.' She said merrily, taking his hand is hers. Hermione giggled, and followed them out the kitchens, waving a goodbye to Dobby as she left.

* * *

'You know,' Harry said in passing a few hours and a full stomach later, 'it could be quite useful having your own house-elf working in the kitchens. Kreacher!'

* * *

A/N - I Apologise for the huge delay between the last update and this one. The last few months have been beyond hectic, and that, coupled with a bout of writer's block made writing anything impossible for a while. Anyway, I think I'll be able to write quite often from now on for a while, so enjoy! 


	24. Ferret Abound

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowling. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR –

_**Ferret Abound**_

Harry spent the following few days pouring through the memories held in the Pensieve, helped by Hermione, and on occasion, Ginny. Whenever they had an opportunity, any one of them would run up to Harry's room to study another few memories. Hermione thought that they should work through Dumbledore's memories of Riddle's school years chronologically, insisting that if Riddle ever gave away any important information about his quest for immortality, it would have been when he was young and less able to hide his emotions.

And so Harry, Hermione and Ginny sieved through Dumbledore's memories of the young Tom Riddle, but they found very little of interest; a quiet talk to one of his 'dedicated friends' here, an overheard conversation with Slughorn about a particularly dark book he'd read there, but nothing substantial. Eventually, against Hermione's advice to finish Riddle's Hogwarts years, Harry started looking at Dumbledore's memories of conversations with Tom's Professors, most of which took place in the staff room.

A week later he came across a memory during a free period, of Slughorn having an amused conversation with the Charms Professor and Dumbledore at the start of a new school year. Apparently, from what Harry could glean from the exchange, Riddle had been the cause of a rather entertaining incident regarding underage magic during the summer after his first year. In a fit of rage against another orphan, he had banished him to the site of that year's summer outing, it had caused quite a commotion at the Ministry, as it had happened in the middle of the orphanage's lunch hall. Practically the entire orphanage had had to be obliviated, and there had been serious talk of snapping Tom Riddle's wand.

When Harry finally emerged from the memory, he hurried out his dormitory to find Hermione, who he found having a heated discussion with Ginny about the ramifications of Golpalott's Laws in the common room.

'But Ginny, _listen_ to me! If you want to find the antidote to a blended poison you need to make sure the antidotes to the individual poisons don't cancel out, and find the extra ingredient which helps blend them. Now, in –' but she didn't get any further.

Harry grabbed her shoulder, and leaning into her, whispered in her ear, 'I found something you should see, _now_.' Hermione gave Ginny an apologetic look, and said that they could finish talking later, before leaping up and following Harry up to his room, where he found the memory again and showed it to her. When the Hermione came back out, she had thoughtful look on her face.

'This does look quite interesting Harry, it would be fitting in with the pattern of hiding places wouldn't it?' Harry nodded. 'I mean, it would have been an important event in his past, and even though a lot of people would remember what happened, not many of them would be able to link Lord Voldemort to his past as Tom Riddle.' She paused to think for a moment before adding. 'Anyway, even less people would risk the wrath of Voldemort, and the only person apart from us who knows about the Horcruxes is Professor Slughorn, and we both know how he feels about angering Voldemort.'

Harry scowled; he had lost almost all of the respect he had had for the Potions Professor since he'd started looking through Dumbledore's memories. Slughorn had a vast knowledge of Riddle's life at Hogwarts and of the few years when he'd worked at Borgin and Burkes, and with his intimate knowledge of Voldemort's only weakness, had the potential to play a significant role in his demise, but he did nothing. This lack of action on Slughorn's part angered Harry more than anything, except perhaps Pettigrew's betrayal.

While there were wizards and witches doing everything in their power to resist Voldemort, with no hope of success, Harry was galled that Slughorn could sit back and do nothing. Especially when he knew of Voldemort's Horcruxes and so consciously chose to allow him a chance at immortality.

'Harry,' Hermione said, dragging him out of his thoughts, 'can you look for any other memories that are connected to this incident? I'll go to the Library and see if I can find anything about it in the old Daily Prophet papers.' Harry nodded and Hermione left the room, presumably to tell Ginny that they would have to continue their discussion at a later point.

Before she'd even left the room, Harry was swirling the thoughts around with his wand, searching for any conversations Dumbledore had had that were related to Riddle's accidental use of underage magic. After a few minutes, Harry thought he'd found what he was looking for, and dove in without hesitation.

Falling though the icy-cold darkness, when he suddenly stopped, he found himself in the Headmistress' office, except that sitting behind the desk, was Professor Dippet. The wizened, frail-looking wizard looked in much better health than when Harry had last seen him in Riddle's Horcrux memory, and was happily conversing with a much younger Dumbledore. Harry looked around the office, but it was as sparsely furnished as the last time he'd seen it, the only difference being, that when he looked out the window, he saw that the sun was high in the sky and grounds looked dry. It was must have been a mid-summer's day.

Harry's attention was dragged towards the conversation when he heard Dumbledore mention Riddle, and he turned to listen to the two professors talking.

'Yes Armando, I know you have sympathy of the boy, and granted, it was his first act of underage magic, but it did cause a lot of hassle for the Ministry. Some of his behaviour prior to his attendance here was most worrying, and I have reason to believe he is not entirely honest. I think we should be considering suspension for the time being,' Professor Dippet's eyes, which had up to this point been staring vaguely at his steeped fingers, snapped up in shock, 'until we can ascertain whether it was deliberate or not.'

'Now see here Albus, we can't go suspending students after the first instance of underage magic, accidental or not. He's a first year for heaven's sake, he doesn't even know how to banish someone; it was purely a subconscious reaction. I will not suspend him for defending himself, it _will not_ do!' He shook his head fervently. 'You're prepared to leave him at that Muggle orphanage for banishing a bully to Hampshire, that's preposterous!'

Dumbledore put his hands up in defence, and exclaimed, 'I'm not suggesting we leave him there permanently Armando, just until we can establish how deliberate his actions were. If he can accidentally banish a Muggle in a fit of temper when, as you said, he doesn't know the charm yet, imagine what he could do to a student here if they were to antagonise him? He banished that boy to Hampshire, from London, wandlessly Armando; imagine what he could do with a wand if he were so inclined. That is all that I am saying.' But it was clear that Professor Dippet had had enough.

'No Albus, I will not do it. Believe what you will, but all I've ever heard about him is his eagerness to learn, which is such a rarity these days, his near perfect marks in _every_ subject, and his awareness of manners! I will not suspend such an exemplary student for a case of accidental magic.'

Dumbledore nodded in tired resignation, and stood up. 'Is there anything else you need to discuss with me Armando?' Professor Dippet shook his head. 'In that case, I have my NEWT lesson plans to prepare. Good day Armando.'

'Good day Albus.' Professor Dippet replied, though his voice was cold, as Professor Dumbledore turned towards the door. The memory ended and the next thing Harry knew, he was back in his dormitory.

He hurried down the stairs to the common room, and giving Ginny a hasty wave, hurried out the portrait hole. He made his way quickly towards the Library, not really thinking about the route, avoiding trick stairs and fake doors automatically.

His mind was whirling with all the information he had discovered within the last hour or so. He was fairly certain now of the general location of that fateful summer trip, and of its immeasurable importance. There seemed to have been very few unusually notorious incidents in Tom Riddle's early life, and so far each one was marked as the location of a Horcrux, and there was no reason to believe that this event would be any different. '_Now if only Hermione can find an exact location for the trip –_'

As the thought materialised in his mind, Harry turned a corner and ran into Ron. Staggering back, he hurried to apologise, but upon seeing who it was, scowled. Ron sneered at him, and tried to shove his way past Harry, who held his ground.

'Out of my way Potter, I'm late for a prefect meeting with Ernie. Unlike you, he considers me important enough to share news with.' Ignoring the jibe, Harry pushed Ron back to face him.

'I hope you know how much you're hurting Hermione,' he growled, 'she practically bursts into tears every time your name is mentioned these days.'

'She does?' Ron exclaimed, his face paling, but a moment later, the sneer was plastered back on his face. 'Well, it's going to take a little more than some silly girl crying a bit for me to ever be friends with you again Potter. Now get out of my way!' He threw Harry back violently, and stormed away.

Harry stared at his retreating robes for a few seconds, before turning back in the direction of the Library, his face a blank mask. He found Hermione buried under a pile of yellowing Daily Prophet papers, and asked her if she'd found anything yet, mentioning that all he'd found out was that it was somewhere in Hampshire. Unfortunately, Hermione hadn't found the related newspaper edition yet, but had shortened the pile of crumbling newsprints to the summer of fifty nine years ago, and asked Harry to help her.

Unfortunately, the bell for the next lesson rang a less than half an hour later, and the two of them hurried to clear away the crumbling paper. Ignoring the angry cries of Madam Pince, they rushed out the Library and hurried down the three flights of stairs and innumerable corridors to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. They made it just as Professor Moody was about to shut the door, and Harry was greeted with a gruff reprimand for his near tardiness, but grinned. He knew, from his long hours of extra tuition, that Moody's harsh exterior was mostly an act to scare any potential foe into taking a split second too long to cast a curse, well … mostly.

'Alright, quieten down, now!' Moody barked as he reached the front of the classroom. Instantly, the whole class, which had been up to that point filled with quiet whispers as books and parchment were pulled out of bags, was plunged into a deafening silence. 'Now who can tell me how you block an Unforgivable Curse?' Silence followed this question as almost everyone stared at Professor Moody with undisguised shock. It was well known that the Killing Curse alone was unblockable.

'Come on now, I know that at least three on you know this,' his normal eye swept over Harry, Hermione and Ron as he said this, 'so don't pretend to be thick.'

Harry wondered when he'd ever seen an Unforgivable Curse being blocked, and his mind wandered to the first night he had tried casting it. He was in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic; Bellatrix Lestrange was taunting him after murdering her cousin, Sirius Black, his godfather. He remembered as the rage built inside him, and he bellowed '_Crucio!_' and watched as Lestrange was blown off her feet as if in slow motion.

And suddenly it came to him, as he remembered when first Bellatrix, then Voldemort, cast an Unforgivable Curse at him, both of which were blocked, not with magic, but with a physical object. As his mind still dwelt on the repercussions of that fateful night, his hand rose slowly into the air. From an almost detached point of view, he noted that Moody was nodding slowly, and that the rest of the class had turned to look at him, Hermione had a confused look on her face, but it quickly became pensive.

Professor Moody waved at Harry to answer, and he croaked out. 'An Unforgivable Curse can only be blocked or deflected using a physical object as a shield, no spell will block them.' Hermione had a look of sudden comprehension on her face, while the rest of the class looked either confused or pensive.

'Well done Potter,' Professor Moody said, walking over to Harry to give him a pat on the back, 'as Potter here said, the only known way to block an Unforgivable Curse is to use a physical object as a shield. That and dodging out of the way are your only chances at avoiding getting hit by them, so remember, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' He roared. Most of the class jumped out of their seats, but a few, who had gotten used to Professor Moody's sudden exclamations, managed to remain seated. 'Now, we're going to practice using objects to block curses. We won't be using the Unforgivable Curses, but you can practise just as well with other curses, but remember to only use complex or powerful curses, a simple _Stupefy_ won't do anything to an inanimate object.' There was an audible gulp from over three quarters of the class, as everyone turned to look at each other in fear. 'Come on now, up! I'm sure Madam Pomfrey can fix anything you can do to each other, so don't worry about injuries. Maybe you'll learn from your mistakes, now up!' He roared.

Everyone jumped this time, and slowly they got out of their seats, watching each other warily. Harry paired up with Hermione, and gave her a reassuring grin. He wouldn't use any simple spells, but that didn't mean they had to be nasty either. Hermione smiled weakly back, and walked to the other side of the room, and as she turned around, Harry fired a silent spell at her. Surprised, she hastily Summoned one of the desks into the path of the spell.

As the beam of light hit with it, the desk turned into a pink, fluffy pillow. The whole class went silent for a moment, before a couple of the girls giggled, and turned back to their partners shooting of an assortment of differently coloured spells. Soon the room was filled with an assortment of toys, new pieces of furniture and a couple of animals, not all of which had previously been pieces of school property. However, one pair was not exchanging spells. Hermione was glaring at Harry.

'You tried to transfigure me into a pillow? A pink, fluffy _pillow_?' Harry fidgeted nervously under her glare, as she approached him, her wand unwaveringly pointed at his chest.

'Come on Hermione, we both know you would be able to block it,' he groaned, 'and even if you hadn't, you'd have dodged it.' Hermione didn't look in the least bit appeased.

'You still tried to turn me in to a _pink_, _fluffy_ pillow!' She practically shouted.

'I thought it was rather funny,' he mumbled, 'and it did give everyone else more entertaining ideas to curse each other with. At least Madam Pomfrey won't be swamped with injuries at the end of the lesson.' Hermione seemed to relax when he said this, and even managed to smile slightly, but her wand hadn't dropped.

'You thought it would be funny, did you?' She was practically nose to nose with him now, and Harry nodded nervously, wondering what she was about to do. 'Well laugh at this!' She exclaimed, smirking, as a beam of light shot out of her wand.

Harry didn't even have a chance to register that she'd just cursed him, when he felt himself shrinking. He closed his eyes to escape the very odd sensation of seeing your eye level drop without moving, and when he felt his body stop changing, he opened his eyes. His eye level had dropped almost to the floor, and he turned he head to look at himself to see what Hermione had turned him into and made a small speak, which had he been human, would have sounded like a moan.

Hermione had turned him into a jet black ferret and as the realisation of what was to come hit him, Hermione pointed her wand at him, and he flew into the air. As he soared up, he vaguely wondered how many cracked ribs he'd have when she was done with him. Next thing he knew, he'd hit the ground with a squeal of pain.

'Never – ever – try – to – do – that – again, – understand?' She growled, pronouncing each word as Harry hit the floor and bounced up again, doing an unnervingly good impression of Professor Moody's impostor.

Harry the ferret nodded fervently, hoping to get Hermione to stop soon before she did any permanent damage, but Hermione either didn't see it, or was having too much fun, because she didn't stop. Harry fleetingly caught a glimpse of Moody, and willed him to stop Hermione soon; all the collisions with the floor were really starting to hurt … However, Moody had a grimace stretched across his scarred face, which Harry had long ago come to associate with amusement.

He twisted his head back and forth rapidly in mid-flight, desperate to find some help from someone in the classroom, but everyone seemed to be finding Hermione's new form of torture hilarious. Harry noted with barely suppressed rage, that Ron was bent over a stray desk, tears of laughter coursing down his cheeks.

Unfortunately, his violent head turns were throwing his new, smaller body off balance, and he started spinning slowly in between bounces, bringing pain to other parts of his body, until he found himself looking at the room from upside down. Well that's as much as he surmised through the haze of pain, as everyone suddenly seemed to be standing on the ceiling –

The last thing he saw was what he knew to be the floor, approaching very fast before everything went black.


	25. Reconcilialtion and Consolidation

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowling. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE –

_**Reconciliation and Consolidation**_

The next thing Harry knew, he was lying in a remarkably warm and comfortable bed and looking up at a lamp that was throwing a circle of golden light onto a shadowy ceiling. He raised his head awkwardly. There on his left was a familiar-looking, freckly, red-haired person.

'Harry, how are you feeling?' Ginny asked him worriedly.

Harry blinked and looked around. Of course, he was in the Hospital Wing. The sky outside was dark and gloomy, the day's lessons must have finished hours ago … as would have dinner. Harry's head felt strangely heavy; he raised his hand and felt a stiff turban of bandages.

'Harry, are you alright, do you want me to fetch Madam Pomfrey?' Ginny asked again, getting up to find the matron.

'No, I think I'm alright.' He answered hastily. 'What happened?'

'Cracked skull,' said Madam Pomfrey, who, upon hearing her name, came bustling over and pushed him against his pillows. 'Don't worry Potter, I mended it in a trice, but I'm keeping you in overnight. You shouldn't over exert yourself for a few hours.'

Harry, knowing he wasn't going to be able to avoid a night in the Hospital Wing, didn't resist. Instead he turned to Ginny. 'Ginny, what happened to Hermione?' He asked, remembering how he had ended up bed ridden.

'She got a detention with Professor Moody.' She replied grimly. 'She's serving it tonight.' As she said this, Harry had the unnerving impression that Ginny wasn't in the least bit sympathetic to Hermione's punishment.

'Look Ginny, I really did deserve this, I shouldn't –' But Ginny interrupted him.

'You did _not_ deserve this. Nothing you could have done would have warranted Hermione cracking your skull open. Honestly, being turned into a pillow _is_ rather mean,' Harry cringed, 'but she had no right to split your head open for it.' Ginny looked positively murderous, and Harry hastened to try and placate her, putting his hands up in surrender.

'Alright, I didn't deserve it, but isn't a detention a bit harsh?' Ginny seemed to swell with indignation. 'I mean, it's not like any permanent damage was done.'

'Harry,' Ginny answered in an impatient tone, 'Hermione is the Head Girl, she has to set a good example, and transfiguring her fellow students as retaliation and causing them serious harm is not the example she should be setting. Especially as you two are meant to be best friends, it could become acceptable now for disputes to be settled using magic instead of words. Honestly, I'm surprised she didn't lose her badge.'

Harry was gob smacked at the seriousness of the situation, and couldn't even articulate his surprise. '_Hermione must feel awful, she won't get over this for ages._' Ginny took his silence as acknowledgment of Hermione's irresponsible behaviour and got up.

'I need to go back to the Common Room now Harry, it's almost nine, but I'll come around tomorrow morning with some clothes for you, ok?' Harry nodded, and Ginny leaned forward to kiss him gently, whispering in his ear that she was glad that he was already getting better, but that she was going to plan some kind of revenge for Hermione anyway. Harry groaned inwardly, but didn't voice his doubts, knowing that this would only lead to angering Ginny further, which wouldn't help Hermione, or him.

A few minutes after Ginny left, Madam Pomfrey told Harry that she was going to bed and after getting all the curtains to close themselves, and dimming all the lamps, she returned to her office. But Harry couldn't sleep, and it did not take long for his thoughts to slide back to his primary activity for the last few weeks. Even that though, couldn't keep him awake for long anymore, he'd mulled over the same small snippets of information for too long, and it wasn't long before his mind slipped into that boredom induce stupor which lies between deep sleep and consciousness.

It seemed like an eternity later, when the doors to the Hospital Wing creaked open slowly, but Harry didn't pay attention to it. It was probably some student who'd eaten one of the twins' products and the effects hadn't worn off yet.

'Harry?' Someone whispered into the silent room. Harry rolled over and squinted towards the doors.

'Hermione?' He asked curiously, putting on his glasses. 'What are you doing here?' Hermione tip toed up to his bed.

'I just wanted to see how you were feeling; Ginny practically banned me from visiting you.' Harry snorted, but otherwise didn't answer, knowing that Hermione had something she needed to get off her chest. 'Harry, I'm –' she hesitated, wringing her hands in anxiety, 'I'm _really_, _really_ sorry for hurting you so badly. I swear, I never meant –'

'Forget it Hermione.' Harry grunted. 'It wasn't that big a deal, I've had a lot worse.' But that seemed to be the wrong thing to say, for Hermione promptly burst into tears, and Harry had to point his wand at the door to Madam Pomfrey's office and mutter a hurried '_Muffliato!_' before Hermione was discovered.

'Oh Harry!' Hermione flung her arms around Harry's neck and broke down completely.

Harry was caught completely by surprise by her collapse, and barely had time to register that Hermione's eyes were bloodshot before she buried her face in his shoulder. Not knowing what to do with his arms, he eventually settled for rubbing small circles on her back.

'I'm so sorry; I never meant to hurt you like that!' She wailed 'I just snapped! The last few weeks have been so stressful with everything going on, it was just too much!' Harry just whispered to her that everything was alright, while she continued sobbing into his shoulder. Finally, Hermione lifted herself off Harry.

'Harry, I'm really, really sorry about your head. Just because you've had worse, doesn't give me the right …' she sobbed.

'It's all right Hermione, I deserved it. I shouldn't have tried to turn you into a pink, fluffy pillow. Next time it'll be white and rock hard.' He joked weakly. Hermione made a small hiccup, and then sniffed, wiping her bloodshot eyes with her sleeves.

'I really _am_ sorry Harry,' she repeated, pushing herself up off Harry, 'I wasn't thinking clearly, and I really could have done you lasting harm. Harry scoffed.

'Rubbish, there's practically nothing you could have done to me that Madam Pomfrey couldn't have healed. Short of unleashing Greyback on me that is.' He joked, although it wasn't really a joke, as Bill's face still hadn't healed, and there wasn't anything anyone could do for him. Although slightly better, his face had still been an ugly patchwork of torn skin at his wedding several months after the attack on Hogwarts.

Hermione sat up immediately, looking horrified.

'Harry, I would never do that to you,' she exclaimed, 'and anyway, you shouldn't joke about that kind of thing.'

'Alright, alright, I won't mention that again, as long as you stop apologising for putting me in here. I know you didn't mean to do it, and anyway, it _was_ rather funny.' Hermione had a shocked look plastered on her face, and looked like she was about to protest. 'Although I'm glad that Malfoy wasn't around to see it.' He added.

Hermione snorted and slid off Harry's lap, sitting down in the chair Ginny had vacated.

'Oh Harry, while I remember, have you been telling Professor Moody what we've been, uh, doing?' Harry sat up, frowning a little.

'Yeah I have, why?' Hermione nodded and said that he'd told her to go and do some research in the Library for her detention. She only asked Harry because Moody had mentioned something about it being the best way to make it up to Harry. 'Oh right, well I haven't been telling him what we've been researching. Only, since he's leading the Order now, I felt like I should tell him that we're looking at ways to defeat Voldemort. He's gotten quite friendly in our training sessions and afterwards we just chat sometimes about stuff.'

'Oh Harry,' Hermione said, looking rather exasperated, 'that's all well and good, but the less people know about what we're doing, the safer the secret is. I mean, what happens if Voldemort gets wind about what we've been searching for?'

'Hermione, no one's going to find out. I haven't told him anything apart from that we're looking at ways to defeat Voldemort. Anyway, it's _Moody_, the head of the Order, and possibly the most paranoid wizard in Britain. Who is he going to tell? And what could he tell? He doesn't know _anything_, I swear.' Hermione looked pacified, but still looked a bit doubtful.

'Alright, just don't go telling him anything substantial in your sessions, we never know who he might talk to in his free time.' Harry nodded in agreement, and then remembered what had brought on this new conversation.

'Hermione, did you find anything in those old papers then?' Hermione immediately sat up and grinning, she nodded enthusiastically.

'Oh Harry, I almost forgot. I found out exactly where the trip was, look.' She fished an old piece of newsprint out of her pocket and handed it to Harry.

He stared at it for a few seconds, holding the parchment gingerly in his hands, without taking in any of the words. If Hermione and he were right, he was potentially holding the key to destroying one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. Shaking his head a bit, he focused on the headline.

_UPROAR AT THE MINISTRY_

_Yesterday, pandemonium broke out in Levels Two and Three of the Ministry when a Hogwarts student in his first year accidentally banished a Muggle in front of a hall full of other Muggles. The student in question, a Master Tom Marvolo Riddle, spends his summers in a Muggle orphanage, where we at the Prophet have heard he is regularly bullied and mistreated. Yesterday, at approximately one o'clock, Master Riddle was assaulted by a Muggle named William Harding while eating his lunch. Unable to defend himself physically, Master Riddle inadvertently banished said Muggle from the lunch hall._

_Moments later, Ministry officials apparated to the building to question Master Riddle in order to find the banished Muggle, only to find over one hundred orphans watching Master Riddle in shock. Reinforcements from the Obliviator department had to be called immediately to deal with the number of Muggles exposed to magic caused by such a serious breech of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statutes of Secrecy. To avoid a stampede of panicked Muggles, and to ensure that all the Muggles were obliviated, the Obliviators had to petrify the entire hall before starting. This leads to the interesting question asked by some of us at the Prophet, whether it is lawful to enchant Muggles before obliviating them to make our life a little easier, or indeed if it is even moral._

_After all the Muggles had been obliviated, Master Riddle was interrogated at length by members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, until a list of probable sites was determined for William Harding's location. All of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and a large number of Aurors had to be employed in the search, and the lost Muggle was eventually found wandering confused around Winchfield, a small town in Hampshire where the orphanage had taken the children that summer. _

_This incident has caused a lot of stress for the Ministry and especially the Muggle Liaison Office, and the repercussions for young Master Riddle, who performed a complex spell on a Muggle, could be serious, although not everyone at the Ministry agrees what form his punishment should take. Mr Hawkthorne, one of the Aurors asked to help in the search, suggested -_

Harry looked up, and grinned at Hermione, who was smiling shyly at him.

'I think you've found it Hermione. This is great, really, really great!' He exclaimed happily, sitting up. Hermione's smile broadened and Harry reached forward to pat her on the shoulder. 'Well done Hermione.' He said. 'Though, I think we should both get some sleep now,' the smile slid off Hermione's face, 'it _is_ pretty late.' He added quickly. Hermione looked at her watch, and jumped.

'Oh my God! I didn't notice the time, I've got to go!' She exclaimed, jumping up and snatching the sheet of yellowing parchment out of Harry's hands. 'Good night Harry! See you tomorrow.' She gave him a quick hug and a peck on the cheek, before hurrying from the Hospital Wing.

Harry slid back onto the cushions and sighed. Hermione's discovery suddenly brought their task into sharp focus, and Harry wasn't sure if he was really ready for it. '_It has to be done,'_ part of him argued, while another part of him wanted to scream, '_let someone older and more experienced do it._' At the same time he remembered his conversion with Dumbledore at the end of last year. His own words resonated through his mind, the desire stronger now than ever before, "_I'd want him finished, and I'd want to do it._"

He thought of his parents, Sirius, Cedric, Dumbledore, Dorcas Meadowes, even the Dursleys, and knew that he had to kill Voldemort; for them. Even though he knew that he was far less powerful than Voldemort, and even less experienced, he'd find a way, he _had_ to find a way.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but slumber was long in coming. When he woke up the next morning, he didn't feel in the least bit refreshed, and could barely focus on getting his legs in the right trouser leg. Eventually, he asked Ginny for a hand, much to her amusement, and after a few minutes spent trying to put the right body part in the right hole, they left the Hospital Wing.

As they entered the Great Hall, Harry immediately spotted Hermione sitting with Neville, and headed in their direction, but to his surprise, Ginny tried to pull him away from them, towards a group of sixth years. Harry sighed and stopped, pulling Ginny close to him to avoid eavesdroppers.

'Ginny, please don't be silly about this. I've already talked to Hermione, and we've sorted it out. It was an accident, and I've forgiven her.' As Harry said this, Ginny's face turned a rather alarming shade of red, so Harry pressed on before she exploded. 'Please don't make this harder than it already is, she's already finding it hard with Ron not talking to us.' But before he could say anything else, Ginny's self-control broke.

'She turned you into a ferret.' She hissed angrily. 'She bounced you up and down on a stone floor, and she cracked your skull open; and you forgive her?' She asked incredulously. 'Just like that?'

All Harry could do was nod, but it seemed to be enough. Ginny's anger seemed to deflate before his eyes, and before he knew it, she'd thrown her arms around him.

'That's what I love about you Harry,' he heard her mumble into his hair; 'you forgive so easily.' Harry wasn't sure he agreed with her, but he wasn't about to interrupt her and get her all angered up again. 'First me, then Ron, then Dumbledore. I would _never_ have been able to forgive him for what he did to you.'

Harry looked up, and realised virtually everyone was watching them intently. 'Err Ginny; would you like to continue this somewhere else?' Ginny looked up and blushed furiously.

'No, it's ok, let's go eat.' She took Harry's hand and dragged him towards Hermione and Neville. Harry shook his head; he would never understand girls.

As they approached Hermione, Neville waved cheerfully at them.

'Hey Harry, how's your head? Did Pomfrey manage to fix you up?' Harry grinned, and nodded. Hermione seemed to shrink into her seat, almost willing the ground to swallow her up. 'Well at least it'll teach you not to mess with Hermione; she knows far too many ways to make to suffer!' Harry laughed, but Hermione sank even further into her seat, and Ginny glowered. Harry turned to Hermione, but failed to make eye contact, Hermione was studiously avoid looking at him.

'Good morning Hermione.' He said cheerfully.

'Hello Harry, Ginny.' She mumbled, still looking at the floor.

'Hermione.' Ginny replied coolly. Harry sat down opposite Hermione, and nudged her leg gently. Hermione looked up, startled, but Harry only grinned at her. She smiled weakly at him, but then pulled a book out of her bag, and hid behind it.

Neville looked at Hermione, then Harry and Ginny, looking puzzled. Harry shrugged, and pulled a plate of toast towards them. Soon everyone was eating quietly, although Harry noticed that there quite a few people casting curious glances at him every so often. Some of them seemed rather calculating too, although most of these came from girls, and Harry ignored them.

After breakfast, Harry left Hermione and Ginny in the Entrance Hall and made his way up to the Library, intent on researching ways to detect magic. He remembered Dumbledore's fingers caressing the walls of the cave, almost lovingly, and knew that even though he couldn't manage such advanced magic, there must be other ways of detecting residual magic.

Upon reaching the Library, he immediately set off in search of useful books, working through his entire free period and break time. He read several guides on the subject, making notes on any spell that seemed relevant.

After break, he hurried down to the dungeons for Potions, and found Hermione waiting outside Slughorn's door with Susan Bones and Terry Boot. He pulled her to one side and showed her his notes, asking her is she knew any other spells that may come in handy. She gazed intently at the list, murmuring incantations under her breath and mimicking wand movements, before telling him that there might be one of two other helpful spells, but that he'd found most of them.

They agreed to practise the spells in their free period before Sparring, and that evening after Harry's Defence session with Moody, before rejoining the rest of the class, which was now filing into the classroom. Sitting down with Hermione at the back of the class, Harry idly wondered how soon Hermione and he could go to Winchfield.


	26. Final Preparations

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowling. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

Thanks must go to Sonicdale for beta'ing for me .

– CHAPTER TWENTY SIX –

_**Final Preparations**_

Friday evening found Harry and Hermione zealously practising detection spells in the Room of Requirement. Hermione would enchant an object, sometimes simply disillusioning it or sometimes so that an action had to be carried out before it became visible. Harry would then try and find it. His spell work was still a bit inconsistent, but it was still a vast improvement on the previous evening.

The day before Harry hadn't been able to detect anything, however simple Hermione's enchantment, and at one point, had thought he needed to do a cartwheel for the object to be revealed. Compared to that, Harry was fairing a lot better tonight. He'd managed to detect over half of Hermione's hidden objects and was in the process of searching for another.

'Hermione, are you sure this spell works better than the other one?' Harry asked while waving his wand in complex motions and frowning when nothing happened. Hermione sighed.

'Yes Harry, I'm sure,' she replied. 'You just need to concentrate harder on what you're trying to find.'

Harry scowled and waved his wand again, rather more energetically than before, but this seemed to have no effect. 'Remember, at this point, it's not the Horcrux you're looking for,' she prompted. 'Just try to relax and focus everything on finding the hidden object.'

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling slowly and moved his wand in an almost lethargic manner. He opened his eyes just in time to see the faint afterglow of a book's outline fade away. He grinned and flicked his wand at where the book was concealed, but nothing happened. He frowned when he noticed Hermione barely concealing a smirk.

'You'll have to do better than that Harry; you didn't think I was going to make it easy for you, did you?'

'Well it would have made a nice change,' he grumbled, before turning his attention back to the hidden book. He pointed his wand at where it had appeared and started muttering a long list of spells, trying to determine what he needed to do to reveal the book.

After several minutes, Harry at last smiled and approached the concealed book. Performing the first spell again to see exactly where the book was, he grasped the binding and gently stroked it. Almost instantly, the book reappeared and Harry heard Hermione clapping behind him.

'Well done Harry, I didn't expect you to find that one so soon. You're improving really quickly, and I think you'll have that one learnt fully after a few more tries. Shall we do it again?'

Harry nodded and turned away from Hermione while she grabbed one of the objects the Room of Requirement had supplied and performed another enchantment on it, probably more complex than the previous one. Harry nodded and turned away from her as she took another object to enchant. The Room of Requirement had given them several miscellaneous objects to practise with. _'She's probably making it more complex and harder to detect this time,'_ Harry mused.

After a few minutes, Hermione announced that she'd finished and Harry turned around, before starting the long process again.

* * *

'Harry, you did really well tonight,' she said. 'I don't see how you could improve any more, apart from maybe taking less time to find out what you have to do to reveal the object.'

The two were walking down the corridor towards the Common Room after having practised for another couple of hours, having worked over the list Harry had made. Hermione had shown him a few others, and Harry now felt that however complex Voldemort's defences were, he would at least be able to get a general idea of what he'd need to do to cross them.

'Thanks Hermione,' Harry said. 'You've been a huge help. I just hope that it'll be enough — otherwise I could be in for rather a lot of pain tomorrow.'

Hermione stopped and stared in disbelief at Harry. 'Tomorrow?' she squeaked. 'You want to go tomorrow?'

Harry frowned. 'Well yes, unless you can think of something else I need to do before I go. Are there any more spells you think I need to learn?'

Hermione shook her head. 'Well where's the problem then?' Harry turned back towards the Common Room.

'Harry, there are a million things you could learn and it might not be enough. You shouldn't go tomorrow, you should prepare more,' she said, ticking her reasons off on her fingers. 'Perfect the spells you know, read up on all you can on the First War to know what kind of creatures Voldemort uses, learn a few healing spells.'

'Please Harry, don't go tomorrow,' she implored, but saw that Harry wouldn't listen.

'Hermione, you just said I can't improve those spells much more, and I should go as soon as I can,' He said. 'People are dying every day, I don't want to have to see another person being taken from a classroom to be told they're orphans, and know that I could have done something about it.'

Hermione flinched. Just yesterday, Lisa Turpin had been taken out of Potions to be told that her parents and ten year old sister had been murdered. She hadn't been seen since.

'The sooner I go, the quicker I can finish him; I can't sit here doing nothing anymore. Not when people are dying, and not when everyone expects me to kill him,' he finished lamely.

The two had come to the conclusion long ago that anyone could kill Voldemort if they were skilled enough. It was only because of the prophecy that everyone expected Harry to do it, and therefore wouldn't try themselves.

Hermione nodded and turned her face to hide the single tear that was sliding down her cheek. 'OK Harry, but I'm coming with you then,' she said, firmly.

'What? No!' he exclaimed in indignation, ignoring the portraits on the side of the corridor telling him to keep quiet. 'Hermione, you're not coming with me, I'm not risking your life as well as mine. It's far too dangerous, and I'm not willing to see anyone else get killed or seriously hurt chasing after these things.'

Hermione glared despairingly at him for moment before answering. 'Harry, I know you think you're perfectly capable of retrieving them by yourself, and to be honest you probably are, but I can help, I _want_ to help.'

Harry had been on the verge of arguing back, but shut his mouth after Hermione's last comment.

'Anyway, if you're not going to bother reading up about the First War and everything else, you should at least take someone who has,' she huffed, crossing her arms.

Harry sighed, and spent a few moments thinking hard about the decision he was about to make. Eventually, he sighed too and gave in.

'Fine, you can come,' he said, 'but you're going to have to make the same promise Dumbledore made me take before going. You must obey any command that I might give you, immediately and without arguing, alright?'

Hermione nodded. 'Of course Harry.'

'I mean it Hermione, I've been in a situation like this before, but you haven't. If I tell you to run, hide, or go back, you must do it. Can you do that?'

Hermione seemed to hesitate, but only for a fraction of a second. 'Yes, Harry,' she said quietly.

'Alright then,' Harry said, barely above a whisper. He didn't want to have to think again about the last person to have insisted upon those conditions. 'Let's get back to the Common Room and have a lie in tomorrow. We'll probably need all the energy we can get.'

Hermione nodded sadly, unhappy about the promise Harry had made her make.

They entered the Common Room in silence and said their good nights before climbing the staircases to their dormitories, but Harry didn't go to bed immediately. Instead, he stayed up and pulled Dumbledore's pensieve out of his trunk. Concentrating, he swirled the contents with his wand until he found what he was looking for, and without a moment's hesitation, he dived in.

He felt his feet leave the dormitory floor and the familiar sensation of falling through whirling darkness. Before long, he found himself standing on a very familiar-looking dirt path. Standing before him was what used to be the Gaunt home, although the dilapidated building before him could barely be called a building any more. If Harry had though it had looked run down and uninhabitable when he visited it in Bob Ogden's memory, it was nothing compared to the state it was in, in Dumbledore's far more recent memory.

Most of the roof had caved in, leaving rafters sticking out of the ceiling in odd places, and where the nettles had once reached the windows, there were no longer any windows visible having been covered up by wild plants long ago. The front door still had the remnants of a snake nailed to it, although all that was left was its small skeleton and patches of skin still clinging to the rusty nails.

Harry watched as Dumbledore, his wand hand still intact, approached the cottage cautiously. He stopped a few meters in front of the door and stared at it intently, much like how he had focussed on the cave wall last summer. Recognising what he was doing this time, Harry focussed on the door too, hoping that he'd be able to discern any traces of magic like Dumbledore could, but try as he might, all Harry could see was a rotting door with a snake skeleton nailed to it.

After a few moments, Dumbledore smiled softly to himself and pulled out his wand, pointing it at the nearest tree. A long, knobbly branch suddenly severed itself from the tree and flew towards Dumbledore, stopping dead before his outstretched hand. Dumbledore grasped it, and, placing his wand gently on the ground, advanced on the door. Harry wanted to yell at him not to leave his wand behind, but knew it wouldn't do any good; after all, this was just a memory.

Opening the door slowly, Dumbledore peered inside and drew back suddenly. Harry raced over and looked inside without hesitation, knowing that nothing could harm him here. But even that knowledge didn't prevent him from recoiling in shock and surprise. The whole building was, quite literally, crawling with snakes. The floor was covered in all kinds of snakes. Harry realised that almost all of them were poisonous — no wonder Dumbledore had jumped back so quickly.

Harry turned around to see Dumbledore retreat to his wand, and for a moment, thought he was going to try and enter the cottage with it. To Harry's surprise, all he did was light the end of his branch, place his wand back on the ground, and walk confidently back towards the door. Harry followed Dumbledore nervously, knowing something was about to go terribly wrong, knowing that he was powerless to prevent it.

Dumbledore strode through the front door, waving his branch this way and that. Harry had to marvel at his ingenuity. The snakes were slithering away from the fire as fast as they could, leaving enough space for Dumbledore to move about as he please. He began searching through the cottage for Slytherin's ring. Having only three rooms, it didn't take long for Dumbledore to search the cottage, but after a couple of minutes he returned empty handed. Frowning slightly, he paced the room, while Harry began to search for the ring himself, wondering where the young Riddle could have hidden it.

Harry returned to the living room after about ten minutes, not having found the ring either, He decided to wait for Dumbledore to find it, wondering only how long it would take. After what seemed like an age, but was probably only about half an hour, Dumbledore stopped his pacing, and turned towards the fireplace, focussing on it. Striding towards it, he leaned the branch against the wall, and began running his hands over the mantelpiece. Finding nothing, he leaned under the ledge, and reached into the bottom of the chimney.

Within seconds, he gave an exclamation of triumph and pulled out an old, battered shoebox. Harry ran forward to examine it, but found it to be just an ordinary cardboard box. He decided to wait and followed Dumbledore outside.

Once Dumbledore had retrieved his wand, he lifted the lid cautiously with his left hand, pointing his wand at the box with his right. He was clearly expecting Voldemort to have done something to Slytherin's ring, or the box containing it, and wasn't disappointed. Harry yelled in surprise when a small, steel-grey snake sprang from the box and sank its fangs into Dumbledore's hand. Startled, Dumbledore took a step back and pointed his wand at the small snake, which Harry instantly recognised as a Common Adder, and threw it off with a loud bang.

Inspecting the snakebite carefully, Dumbledore waved his wand quickly, and a hazy cloud of venom floated out of the bite. Dumbledore vanished the venom with a lazy flick of his wand, and turned his attention back to the heavy ring lying at the bottom of the shoebox.

Apparently, he could not see anything wrong with it, because after a second's hesitation, he pocketed his wand and reached in to pick it up. But as Dumbledore's fingers closed around the ring, Harry's feeling of unease intensified sharply. Dumbledore gave a cry of pain, retracted his hand still holding the ring, but the damage was done. Acid seemed to be appearing out of thin air over a spot on his hand, and was rapidly eating away at Dumbledore's skin. It was only seconds before Harry could see muscle tissue, and the sight made him want to throw up.

Dumbledore dropped the ring to the ground, but the acid didn't stop eating away at his flesh, so quickly pocketing it again, he apparated away, dragging Harry with him. The sensation was rather odd, much like a Side-Along apparition, but without the feeling of having his chest crushed by iron bands. When Harry found his footing again, he found himself before an unfamiliar door in a cobbled street full of dilapidated brick houses.

Dumbledore knocked gently on the door, and waited patiently, although his hand must have been in agony. The door was opened by none other than Severus Snape. Harry wanted to throttle the traitorous professor, but watched as Snape's eyes widened at the sight of Dumbledore's hand.

'Professor, what on Earth happened to you?' he asked in what was undeniable shock.

'I'm sorry Severus, but I do not have the time to answer that properly, I was collecting an item which was rather unexpectedly cursed, and left my hand in this condition when I touched it. Do you think you can remove the curse?'

Snape hesitated, looking over his shoulder and waved his wand towards a wall of books muttering '_Muffliato_', before letting Dumbledore in. Harry followed quickly, and watched as Snape held Dumbledore's right arm with the utmost care as he examined it.

'Did this only happen on contact Professor?' Snape asked.

Dumbledore nodded, a grimace of pain flashing across his face for the first time. Harry noticed that the acid was still spreading, slowly, and had almost reached Dumbledore's wrist.

Snape hurried down a narrow corridor after a few more minutes, and returned quickly, carrying an old, battered book. He flipped through the pages rapidly, his nose so low it was almost touching the pages as they flew past his face. He stopped suddenly and gave a cry of triumph.

'Ah ha! I knew I'd seen this curse before,' he said. 'Professor, I want you to stay very still, there really isn't any room for error with this.' Dumbledore nodded, his face pale and breaking into a light sweat, and held out his hand for Snape to try and break the curse.

Snape, taking a deep breath, and checking the page again, focussed intently on the now dead looking hand before waving his wand in a fast, almost violent motion and crying out, '_Absolve Zanies Article_'. A thin beam of light shot out of his wand and encompassed the entire of Dumbledore's hand, changing colour from a dark blue to blood red in a matter of seconds, before fading slowing. Dumbledore exhaled slowly, and inspected his hand, trying to gently flex his fingers. He winced a bit, but seemed satisfied with Snape's work.

He gave him a weak smile. 'Thank you Severus, sometimes I do not know what I would do without you.'

'Surely find another Potions Master who also happens to be a reformed Death Eater, and an adept of the Dark Arts, Professor,' Snape replied coldly.

Dumbledore snorted.

'Hardly, you are a very rare commodity Severus. I would find it very difficult to replace you.'

Now Snape snorted, and muttered a retort. 'Something that you might have to do by the end of the year.' Dumbledore frowned and leaned towards Snape, laying his unhurt hand on Snape's shoulder.

'What do you mean Severus?' he implored. Snape didn't answer, only hanging his head lower. 'What have you done?' Dumbledore whispered, almost to himself.

At that moment Dumbledore's memory ended, and the scene faded around Harry, who found himself back in his dormitory, wondering what Snape could possibly have done to feel so dejected. The curiosity did not purge Harry of his loathing of the former Hogwarts professor, but the look on Snape's face did imbue Harry with a sense of pity for him.

It also had the effect of almost driving Dumbledore's visit to the Gaunts' home out of Harry's mind — almost.

* * *

A/N - I apologise for the ludicrously long time this has taken to write, but the start of Uni has not been anywhere near as easy or smooth-going as I expected it to be, and I've had very little time to devote to fanfic writing. I'll try to write more often in the future, as things are starting to settle down, but I can't promise miracles unfortunately. Realistically it's going to be a while before my next post, but don't worry, I haven't given up on it, and I don't intend to.

On another note, I'm just going to explain my line of thought regarding the obstacles in Dumbledore's memory of collecting Salazar's ring, as I've been told that it's not exactly clear how I came up with the scenario when first read. I was trying to build on the notion that Voldemort makes his obstacles from things that he considers threatening or frightening. In the cave (in HBP), the payment was blood, and then the lake was dark and full of dead bodies,  
displaying a clear fear of death and the unknown (represented by the darkness). So for the ring, I had Voldemort make the tresspasser relinquish his/her magic (represented by the forgoing of a wand) as that is something  
that Voldemort treasures more than anything else. The snakes were a continuation of the theme of fear, as most people fear snakes, and when Voldemort placed the Horcrux there, he would have been the only Parlsemouth  
(apart from his uncle Morfin) alive, and therefore, he believed, the only one who could get into the cottage without a wand and unharmed.

I hope that clears up any questions anyone has about that scene, but if you still see a problem with it, do tell me, as it's more than possible I overlooked a detail.


End file.
